Did The White Officer In Ferguson Commit Murder ?

We are still waiting to see what the Grand Jury in St. Louis County (Missouri) will decide in the case of white Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Last summer, Wilson shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown -- and numerous witnesses have said the teenager was shot while his arms were raised and trying to surrender. What will be the Grand Jury's verdict?

Well, it would not surprise me at all if Officer Wilson is allowed to go scot-free, with no charges at all. And that seems to be what the prosecution in St. Louis County wants. Instead of just presenting enough evidence to establish there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed (as is the usual case), the prosecutors have presented everything to the Grand Jury (including defense information, which is normally not presented until a trial. It's as though the prosecutors want the Grand Jury to let them off the hook (so they don't have to take this case to a trial), and have done their best to provide the Grand Jury with an excuse not to indict.

And that would probably be fine with most in America, especially whites. A recent Rasmussen Poll (done on November 19th and 20th of a random sample of 1,000 adults, with a 3 point margin of error) shows that only 23% of Americans believe the witnesses and think Officer Wilson committed murder. Meanwhile, 39% say the officer acted in self-defense (and another 38% don't know what to think). That's pretty sad. Why don't the people believe the witnesses? Is it because they are black?

What do you think this poll would show if the officer was black, and the victim and witnesses were white? I'm betting those numbers would be far different, with a clear majority thinking murder had been committed. In fact, if the officer had been black, I'll bet he would have already been fired and indicted for murder.

The sad fact is that whites will believe other whites far quicker than they will believe black witnesses, especially when it comes to a police officer (very few of which are ever prosecuted for killing an unarmed black person of any age). And it would not surprise me at all if Officer Wilson was no-billed by the Grand Jury, or just slapped on the wrist with a very minor charge.

There are those who claim this country is in a "post-racial" period. This case, and this poll, illustrate that is simply not true. The racial problems in this country run deep, and we are still very far from solving them.