Despite rush to judgment, justice was served

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Last week, a grand jury of nine whites and three blacks decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

You’ll recall that on Aug. 9, Brown was fatally shot by Wilson following a struggle. Tensions erupted because the 18-year-old Brown was unarmed. There was an immediate rush to judgment, which sparked weeks of violent protests, exposing deep racial tension in Ferguson that reverberated around the nation.

The grand jury had been meeting since Aug. 20, just 11 days after the shooting. The panel met for more than 70 hours, and heard from approximately 60 witnesses. It would have taken nine votes to indict Wilson; the grand jury’s final vote will remain a secret, as is standard protocol.

What followed the verdict was a chaotic night of fires, frequent bursts of gunfire, looting and waves of tear gas. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was forced to send in additional National Guard troops to help quell the violence.

President Obama discussed the need for people in the community to refocus on making progress, and to bring police and the community together. “That won’t be done by throwing bottles,” he said. “That won’t be done by smashing car windows.” The president is right.

I imagine this was a difficult case for the grand jury, given the racial sensitivities and the magnitude of the national attention it drew. But the facts are the facts. The opinion of the liberal media is not fact.

While there were several conflicting statements, the witnesses who testified that Brown raised his hands in a gesture of retreat, that he got down on his knees with his hands up, or that he was running away from the police officer when he was gunned down were all discredited — and some were determined to have told outright lies.

The medical examiner, multiple medical experts and extensive forensic evidence all showed conclusively that Brown was moving toward Wilson’s patrol car when he was killed in a second flurry of shots. The facts bolstered Wilson’s claims that Brown assaulted him, repeatedly refused to obey his commands and, despite being injured, continued to lunge at him.

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