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Grand jury reaches decision in Ferguson, Missouri case

The grand jury reached a decision in their investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
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By Moni Basu, Ralph Ellis and Josh Levs

CNN

FERGUSON, Missouri (CNN) — After months of waiting, this question should be answered soon: Will Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson be indicted for killing teenager Michael Brown?

State and federal sources told CNN the grand jury decision will be announced some time Monday. The prosecutor’s office said that a decision has been reached, but news of what that is will come later in the day.

People in this St. Louis suburb have been waiting since August 9, when Brown, 18, was fatally shot by Wilson.

The killing ignited a national debate on race and law enforcement. Nowhere was the tension more evident in the predominantly black town of Ferguson, which has a mostly white police department and town government. Brown was black, Wilson is white.

Supporters of Brown’s family back witness accounts that Wilson fired while Brown had his hands up in surrender. Wilson’s supporters say that Brown was the aggressor and had tried to take Wilson’s gun while he was in his vehicle and that the officer fired in self-defense.

The town couldn’t even agree what happened during weeks of street demonstrations. Protesters argued that authorities were trying to stifle protests; officials said they were acting to keep violence under control.

Brown’s family is asking for four and a half minutes of silence before any protests begin, family representative Janie Jones said.

The time period is a reference to the approximately four and a half hours Brown’s body remained in the street after he was shot.

An investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found that county detectives were 30 miles away when they were called, and the first detective arrived about 90 minutes after the shooting. When a hearse later arrived, an angry crowd had gathered and it was too dangerous to get the body, authorities said. Ultimately, a SWAT team came.

‘We’re just ready for it to be over with’

The city has been on edge in anticipation of a decision. Law enforcement sources said the grand jury has been sent home.

“We’re prepared for any decision that comes down,” Missouri Public Safety Director Daniel Isom told CNN.

More businesses boarded up, but streets were quiet in the afternoon as residents waited.

Byron Conley, protesting outside city police department, told CNN’s Sara Sidner, “We’re just ready for it to be over with. Let’s get on with our lives.”

Rick Canamore stood with his sign — “RIP Mike Brown” — outside the police department.

If the grand jury does not indict Wilson, anger is sure to consume people such as Canamore.

“I’m already angry because it has taken so long,” he said. “If Mike Brown had shot Darren Wilson, it would have been over a long time ago. But Darren Wilson is walking around free. He hasn’t apologized to Mike Brown’s family. He has not apologized to the community.”

Though the basic facts of the case — that Brown was unarmed when Wilson shot him — are not in question, the facts of the fatal moment are hotly disputed.

Unanimous indictment decision isn’t needed

Unlike a jury in a criminal case, which convicts someone if jurors are convinced of guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a grand jury decides whether there is “probable cause” to charge someone with a crime, based on testimony and evidence presented.

In Missouri, grand jurors don’t have to be unanimous to indict, as long as nine of the 12 agree on a charge.

The grand jury can issue an indictment on any of those four charges. It also can add a charge of armed criminal action, authorities said.

But the grand jury, which received the Missouri statutes for self-defense and the police use of deadly force, may choose not to indict Wilson.

The grand jury meets in secrecy and first met in August. While the jury members are not identified, authorities have released some information about them.

The group of 12 includes nine white people (six men and three women) and three black people (two women and one man), court officials said.

The county grand jury was randomly selected from an approved pool and has been seated since May, according Paul Fox, the director of judicial administration for the St. Louis County Circuit Court.

Many grand juries hear numerous cases. These juries last for a specified period of time rather than the duration of a specific case.

Wilson himself testified before the grand jury, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, an unusual move because he gave up his Fifth Amendment rights in doing so.

 

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