Marilyn Mosby On the Freddie Gray Case

Good afternoon. Check out to Marilyn Mosby's interview with the Baltimore Sun News.

Freddie Gray, Another Black Life that Doesn't Matter

The Baltimore Sun reports that:

Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, bringing to an end one of the highest-profile criminal cases in the city's history with zero convictions.

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby acknowledged the long odds of securing convictions in the remaining cases following the acquittals of three other officers on similar though more serious charges.

In a hearing Wednesday meant to start the trial of Officer Garrett Miller, prosecutors dropped their cases against him, Officer William Porter and Sgt. Alicia White. Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who had acquitted the other officers, was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.

After the most recent acquittal and "a great deal of thought and prayer," Mosby said, she resolved to drop the remaining charges. Mosby stood by her decision to bring the charges, pointing out that the medical examiner's office ruled Gray's death a homicide and that it's her job as the city's top prosecutor to seek justice.

"It's something that I've been grappling with for some time," Mosby said of her decision to end the prosecution, during an interview with The Baltimore Sun. "It's not something that was overnight."

In Baltimore, there was a black mayor, a black judge, black cops, a black prosecutor and a black commissioner. Yet, there was no justice for the black victim, Freddie Gray.  Even with a black President and a black Attorney General, there will be no federal charges filed.

The black cops did nothing to stop white cops from unlawfully arresting Freddie Gray. Black cops and white cops failed to buckle Freddie Gray in, thereby recklessly placing him in a precarious and dangerous position. Black cops ignored Freddie Gray's cries for medical attention. The former police commissioner, who is black, continues to defend the police who were responsible for Freddie Gray's death.

A black prosecutor failed to convince a jury and a black judge to convict the officers responsible for Freddie Gray's death, a death ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. Despite clear evidence of reckless endangerment and misconduct, a black judge decided to let three killers walk free. Consequently, realizing that the remaining cases would go back before the same black judge, the black prosecutor was forced to dismiss the charges against the three remaining officers. When CNN asked about that decision, the black mayor spoke in a detached, non-compassionate and emotionless manner about not being surprised by the decision.

Sadly, the system did not fail Freddie Gray. Even with black administrators, the system was never designed to protect poor black people. It was designed to protect the police and the powerful. The racist criminal justice system does not need white administrators in order to function. Its brutality continues even when the black bourgeois is placed in token positions of power. Black lives never mattered, not even to some black people.

Morning Thread

Good morning from Baltimore. Peace, family.

Criminal Charges Filed Against Baltimore Police Officers for the Killing of Freddie Gray

WBAL TV reports that:

Mosby announced Friday morning that the six officers suspended in the Gray case are being criminally charged. She said Gray's arrest was illegal and there is probable cause to file charges.

Mosby announced the charges as follows:

- Lt. Brian Rice, 41, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1997, the supervisor on April 12: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, false imprisonment

- Sgt. Alicia White, 30, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2010: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office

- Police Officer William Porter, 25, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office

- Police Officer Garrett Miller, 26, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, misconduct in office and false imprisonment

- Police Officer Edward Nero, 29, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with false imprisonment and second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, misconduct in office, false imprisonment

- Police Officer Caesar Goodson, 45, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1999, the driver of the prisoner transport van: Charged with second-degree depraved heart murder; involuntary manslaughter; second-degree negligent assault; manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence; manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence; misconduct in office for failure to secure a prisoner, failure to render aid.

A warrant has been issued for the arrests of the officers.

Marilyn Mosby, I love you. Thank you for standing up for justice. We stand with you, sista!!! Justice for Freddie Gray!!! This is only the beginning of the road, family.