Darren Wilson Could Still Face Jail Time As NAACP Calls For Special Prosecutor To Re-Open Michael Brown Case
Darren Wilson was cleared of shooting teenager Michael Brown when a grand jury voted not to indict the Ferguson police officer, but he may not be in the clear just yet.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund wrote an open letter to Missouri Judge Maura McShane, calling on her to investigate prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who the group claims “knowingly presented false witness testimony to the grand jury” by letting a witness testify despite not being at the scene when the incident happened.
The NAACP also claims that McCulloch intentionally misled the grand jury, giving them copies of a statute that had actually been struck down by a Supreme Court decision 30 years earlier. The letter also says that prosecutors told jury members to conduct their own research on the internet, despite strict instructions from a judge not to do so. McCulloch also gave Darren Wilson favorable treatment, the letter claims.
McShane has the legal authority to appoint a special prosecutor and re-start the case against Darren Wilson, and the NAACP wants her to consider “remedial action — through a new grand jury, appointment of a new special prosecutor, or other means.”
Darren Wilson has already faced charges from one grand jury, albeit a mock one. A group calling itself the Black People’s Grand Jury announced that a group of 12 people heard evidence from the Brown case this weekend and voted 11 to one to indict him for first degree murder.
Organizers of the Black People’s Grand Jury also took aim at Bob McCulloch, saying that he stacked the case in order to get no indictment against Wilson.
Omali Yeshitela, the lead prosecutor for the mock grand jury, said the following.
“Black people must take control of our lives. We cannot trust our children, the future of our community, in the hands of this establishment that has proven to us over and over again its disregard for black life.”
If Judge McShane takes the NAACP’s recommendation, Darren Wilson could ultimately face charges for killing Michael Brown.
