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Ferguson Juror Sues Prosecutor, Says Evidence Was Manipulated to Implicate Michael Brown
The unnamed juror filed the lawsuit so that he
or she will be able to speak publicly about the case and make clear that
not every person on the grand jury wanted to see Officer Darren Wilson
go free.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Getty Images
One of the jurors
on the St. Louis County grand jury that decided not to indict
then-Police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown
commissioned the American Civil Liberties Union to file a lawsuit to
allow the juror to publicly discuss the proceedings. Specifically, the
juror, who remains unnamed, wants to be able to discredit the claim
that “all 12 jurors believed there was no support for any charges,” the Associated Press reports.
The lawsuit was filed against Robert McCulloch, the St. Louis County
prosecutor who oversaw the grand jury proceedings. In the lawsuit, the
juror described how McCulloch presented evidence in such a way that
implicated Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old.
Brown, not Officer Wilson, the lawsuit argues, was fashioned as the
instigator and “the wrongdoer.” The juror has “the impression that
evidence was presented differently than in other cases,” AP explains.
Because Missouri grand jurors are not allowed to speak publicly about
proceedings, the lawsuit argues that the Ferguson, Mo., case is
“unique” and that lifting the gag order will allow the juror to
contribute to the national discourse about race and law enforcement’s
handling of the case.
Tony Rothert, an ACLU attorney, explained why he believes the gag
order should be lifted. “The rules of secrecy must yield because this is
a highly unusual circumstance,” Rothert said. “The First Amendment
prevents the state from imposing a lifetime gag order in cases where the
prosecuting attorney has purported to be transparent.”
Read more at ABC News.
