Saturday, December 20, 2014

Ferguson DA Allows Liars To Testify

"My job is to not get an indictment, my job is to seek the truth and seek justice and do what is right."

There is a strong statement here about motive and justice.

Allowing a Grand Jury to decide for themselves, the DA allowed testimony from those he believed may have been lying, and others that may have been telling the truth; allowing all to testify and the Grand Jury to decide which to believe.

This is a safety technique that keeps opinions of deception from filtering out witnesses.  Although it makes the process lengthy, it allows for the Grand Jury to decide, for themselves, about the truth.

Next note his statement and how this is different from the White House:  his job was not to get an indictment, but to get to the truth.  Rather than allow the rule of law to take its course, the White House will seek federal indictment, instead.

No explanation is given as to why perjury charges are not pursued.  This was puzzling, as well, in the Casey Anthony trial, in which the nation watched Cindy Anthony perjure herself, "so help me God", instead of , "so help me", as her own oath changed while she lied.

From NY Daily News:

Ferguson witnesses ‘clearly' lied to St. Louis grand jury, prosecutor says 

Robert McCulloch, in his first public remarks since announcing there would be no indictment in the shooting death of Michael Brown, says people lied under oath. He won’t pursue perjury charges. 


POOLCRISTINA FLETES-BOUTTE/AFP/GETTY IMAGESSt. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch is seen here on Nov. 24 announcing a grand jury would not indict Ferguson, Mo., Police Department Officer Darren Wilson.
Some witnesses "clearly " lied to the St. Louis grand jury investigating the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., prosecutor Robert McCulloch said in an interview.
"There were people who came in and yes, absolutely lied under oath. Some lied to the FBI, even though they're not under oath, that's another potential offense, a federal offense," McCulloch said Friday, in a discussion with KTRS radio in St. Louis.
Nonetheless, he said he will not seek perjury charges. "Some were clearly not telling the truth, no question about it," McCulloch said. But he wanted all sides to have their say, he added.
In his first public statements since announcing on Nov. 24 that the white police officer who killed the unarmed African-American teen would not be indicted, McCulloch said he has kept quiet because he didn't want "to fire things up."
Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson is seen here after a medical examination following the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown.  St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said Friday he knew some witnesses lied to grand jurors investigating the incident.
Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson is seen here after a medical examination following the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown. St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said Friday he knew some witnesses lied to grand jurors investigating the incident.
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  • Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson is seen here after a medical examination following the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown.  St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said Friday he knew some witnesses lied to grand jurors investigating the incident.
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  • St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said he knew some witnesses were ‘absolutely’ lying to grand jurors investigating the shooting death of Michael Brown.
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HANDOUT/REUTERS
Even though it was apparent that some witnesses were not telling the truth, McCulloch said he allowed them to testify because he wanted jurors to hear all accounts of how Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot to death 18-year-old Brown.
"I thought it was much more important to present the entire picture and say listen, this is what this witness says he saw, even though there was a building between where the witness says he was and where the events occurred, so they couldn't have seen that," McCulloch told the station.
The credibility of two people who testified, identified only as Witness 40 and Witness 41, has already been questioned after transcripts of their testimonies and other details were released publicly.
NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiJAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSProtesters marched to Times Square after St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced a grand jury would not indict Ferguson, Mo., Officer Darren Wilson in the August shooting death of Michael Brown.
Witness 40 admitted to investigators she was bi-polar and racist and had sought donations for Wilson. She came forward five weeks after the Aug. 9 shooting and claimed she had driven to Ferguson "so I stop calling Blacks N------ and Start calling them People," she wrote in a journal that she showed the grand jury.
Witness 41, it was revealed this week, told prosecutors -- after she testified -- that she had recorded the entire shooting incident on her cell phone. But she had dropped her phone in a toilet, she said, and then threw it away.
"Just like any jury, they can believe all, part or nothing of any witness testimony," McCulloch said.
His handling of the case has been criticized from the beginning. On Thursday, Democratic State Rep. Karla May said McCulloch should be investigated for prosecutorial misconduct.
"My job is to not get an indictment, my job is to seek the truth and seek justice and do what is right," McCulloch said in the interview.

3 comments:

Sus said...

I think the problem is proving perjury. Someone would have to see the perjured witness in another locale during the time of the shooting. Otherwise it's about personal perception.

ACH said...

My job is to not get an indictment, is different from "my job is not to get an indictment.

ACH

Anonymous said...

Very astute observation, ACH....

Sus, there were plenty of eye/hear witnesses who heard and witnessed George & Cindy Anthony perjuring themselves; INCLUDING da judge and the prosecutor; in fact, the entire court room AND the media heard them committing perjury repeatedly. It was up to fatso judge and/or the prosecutor to take action after the hearing. They didn't.

This case was the beginning of the end of justice in this country and the George Zimmerman case wrapped it up. Lady justice has left the building. Seeing is believing. MOO, for WIW.