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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Oakland Waits for Verdict in Oscar Grant Shooting.

It is a recurring theme in today's society. An unarmed Black man dying at the hands of law enforcement. The trial of Johannes Mehserle, a BART police officer, is in the hands of the jury. Seversal months ago videos of the shooting went viral and millions watched as the tragedy occurred. Mehserle's defense is that he accidently drew his service pistol, instead of his taser, which was alledgedly his intention. Well, the incident and the public reaction lead to a change of venue to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles court system does not have a stellar reputation in these matters. It appears that rogue cops and celebreties fail to get convicted there.

With that in mind, it is understandable why merchants in Oakland are in fear of civic unrest. After all, following Grant's funeral, rioting occurred. There have calls for calm and peace from all walks of Oakland life, including Grant's mother. You can believe everyone is anxious, even fearful of what may happen. Again, everyone will be expected to accept the jury's verdict. According to the law, that is what is supposed to happen. Usually, of late, it does. Rioting will not solve anything in a case like this. Unfortunately, in cases like these, you never know what a jury might do. I am not taking sides. I saw the video and unless the defendant is just plain stupid, or easy to panic, I cannot really swallow his story. However, I was not there and some things just do not show up in the video.

My primary question is this: "Is this verdict going to to be lawful and just, or just business as usual?"

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