Okay, as I said in yesterday's post, Los Angeles juries are not to swift when it comes to convictions of rogue cops and celebrities. Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Oscar Grant. Again the message it is ok to shoot an unarmed Black man, as long as you are a policeman still whispers loud. Mehserle faces up to four years in prison. Not that stiff a sentence. Now, if I am not mistaken, the sentencing judge can suspend that sentence and give him probation. I am not sure, because I am not a legal expert. However, when it comes to California, nothing surprises me. Only time will tell.
The worse part is that no one is a winner, no matter what the verdict was. Oscar's family will never see him again. His daughter will ultimately never know her father. Johannes Mehserle has to live with what he did. His career in law enforcement is over. He will always be the guy who shot and killed an unarmed man. Should he go to prison, he will have to be placed in protective custody and he will experience the fate of those he himself has previously arrested, during the course of his short career.
Grief? There is more than enough to go around. I don't know, it seems like the only relief the Grant family might get is in Civil Court. Sound familiar? (Think OJ). The only difference is the city of Oakland has to pay. It seems that in all the cases where an unarmed Black man is killed by police officers, the results always seems to be the city throwing money at the festering wounds. I hope they learn one day. To much pain, too much crying, too much dying.
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