News is developing quickly in the Jonathan Ferrell shooting case. Here's what's happening.
To recap, last Tuesday, Jan. 21, a Mecklenburg County (NC) grand jury declined to indict Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Randall Kerrick on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed Black man, Jonathan Ferrell. See my earlier diaries from 9/15/13, 9/16/13, and 11/3/13 for background on the case.
On Friday, January 24, Kerrick's attorneys moved to block the second Grand Jury hearing. Follow me below for what we know tonight, and what to watch for Monday. Please note that this case is extremely complicated, and I am neither a lawyer nor a journalist. I will provide links to all quoted material and encourage those interested to see the full text and videos for more perspective.
Defense attorneys George Laughrun and Michael Greene filed a motion Friday in which they
... jumped on Cooper’s comments as “a wholly improper and blatant attempt to influence” the grand jury’s consideration of the case.
Kerrick’s defense team also contends that submitting the same charge at this point in the process violates state law.
Prosecutors had one week to resubmit the case to the grand jury. That time has passed, the attorneys argue. Even if it hadn’t, the attorney general’s office could only bring back what’s known as a “lesser-related charge” to voluntary manslaughter, they argued.
This week, Laughrun has said repeatedly that such a charge does not exist.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...
Attorney General Roy Cooper's office defended its position in a response.
“Our prosecutors believe the law is clear that we can resubmit this case to the grand jury,” said Noelle Talley, Cooper’s spokeswoman. “Attorneys from our office plan to be in court Monday to argue against this motion.”
On Thursday evening, the Charlotte-based group True Healing Under God (THUG) organized a rally that drew
more than 60 people to a church in Charlotte to protest the grand jury's decision.
Local civil rights leaders at the meeting encouraged people disappointed with the decision to protest outside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Monday, when prosecutors plan to resubmit evidence about the killing to a grand jury.
...
“What happened in that jury room, that was not a tragedy, that was an atrocious, diabolical act of evil,” Kojo Nantambu, the head of the Charlotte chapter of the NAACP, told the crowd. “We’re standing here because people don’t have the integrity, the decency or the humanity to look at Jonathan Ferrell as a young man.”
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...
The arrest Friday of True Healing Under God founder John Barnett on a revoked license charge has not helped the growing tension surrounding the case. A Prayer For Justice rally is planned for Monday in uptown Charlotte, and Mr. Barnett
plans to be in attendance.
I will have limited availability during the day on Monday but will try to follow the comments. See WSOC TV Special Section for local breaking news.