No Way to Find Them Guilty
Reuters
These are the blog postings I hate to write. My disdain comes because I know it will qualify something I hated hearing. But I must accept the outcome of the Sean Bell verdict, even if ultimately it is unfair to those affected.
No matter what i write, it will be unfair to a father, unfair to his fiance Nicole Paultre Bell, his children, his parents and Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, his friends. It is unfair to everyone seeking justice for a death that was not supposed to happen.
It is so unfair, it makes you want to scream, like the nun, pictured above. It was hard for so many people to accept the outcome when the not guilty verdict came down inside a courthouse in Queens, New York.
It is unfair, but what is the truth? The three policemen acquitted for killing Bell went free because there was no way to find them guilty.
Looking back in retrospect, if you monitored the whole trial, and took into account the evidence presented, and the testimony of the witnesses, it became obvious that Queens District Attorney Richard Brown was not going to get a conviction.
His office brought a weak case to Judge Arthur Cooperman with poorly prepared witnesses who contradicted one another, evidence that was easily rendered moot by defense testimony, and ignoring facts like evidence being removed from the scene of the shooting, not to mention the D.A.'s traditionally strong relationship with the New York Police Department.
Prosecutors had to prove that Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper actually went after Bell, Benefield and Guzman with intent to harm or kill them. It was not a trial of their incompetence, lack of preparedness or failure to protect citizens, and cops are rarely convicted on the former and normally get a slap on the hands for the latter.
Were the NYPD Acquittals Inevitable? - TIME
So the ugly truth is Judge Cooperman could not convict the three cops because there was nothing to convict them with. The burden is on the state to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt they intended to kill Sean Bell. The only thing that was proven was that they killed him in a police operation, but their story is that it was because they thought they were in danger. Nobody proved them wrong, so they walked, which is what the U.S. Constitution dictates.
Even the judge himself said that the crappy case that Brown's office brought was not enough to convict:
These factors played a significant part in the people's ability to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt and had the effect of eviscerating the credibility of those prosecution witnesses. And, at times, the testimony just didn't make sense.
More Coverage+ Mobilizing Justice for Sean Bell
+ Bell, Baldwin, and Blackness
+ Reactions: Sean Bell Verdict, Feds Involved
+ Justice Served for Sean Bell?
+ Justice is Blind, Deaf and Dumb in Sean Bell Case
In an interview I did for TIME.com, I talked to two advocates for justice in the case and both told me that the Queens D.A. should never have prosecuted this trial, but rather a New York State Special Prosecutor should have been appointed, thereby eliminating the conflict of interests between the D.A. and the NYPD.
And I absolutely agree. Why would you trust a prosecutor who works diligently each day with the cops to lock up one of their own? That's like passing a basketball to the forward on the opposite team and expecting him to dunk for you.
There has been call for that in the New York State Legislature, and rumor has it that new governor David Paterson may listen. It's not something to hold your breath on, but it is the best option for a community weary of having its sons murdered by the officers assigned to protect them. The three detectives themselves may be acquitted, but they are not exonerated. They will likely face departmental discipline and possibly a federal trial.
None of this gives any comfort to those who have been affected -- and I sincerely hope this family finds a way to heal, one day. Their fiance/son/brother/friend is lying in his grave, wearing the tuxedo he was supposed to be married in. And from the attitude of the justice system, the NYPD, and every racist or biased pundit out there, that's just fine with them.
The only light in any of this is that Cooper did apologize for what happened, and Paultre Bell accepted his apology. That kind of forgiveness takes strength most of us don't have.
Comments: (8)
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By: Gerard on 5/07/2008 2:29PM
well said
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By: guy on 5/08/2008 11:24AM
once again the issues of murdering a black male. the brutallity of three black males in philadelphia on the street being kicked and beaten. I am madd as hell. I am a mother and I have a son. My son is a good young man. I pray for the safety of him. but if anything should every happen him from the hands of the police I will kill the motherfuckers who are responsiable for it. A TIME TO KILL.
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By: Dave on 5/08/2008 4:01AM
Well if this verdict didn't come so close to the videotaped beating in Philadelphia I think you could go with he premise that the case was handled wrong. But you know how it goes; if it's not actually caught on tape no cop is going to have to pay for doing the wrong thing to somebody black. EVEN if the cops doing the wrong ARE black and they've been brainwashed into the cop mentality.
We have exactly one official role in this country; entertain everybody else. Our unofficial role is to be the scapegoats for everything that's wrong; poverty, drugs, crime. Until WE make a decision to not tolerate it "they" will keep doing it to us. Take a look at the ridiculous we've been depicted in the media JUST THIS MONTH.
http://welcomebackrosenthal.com/post-number-200-a-look-black-no-that-is-not-a-typo/
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By: Diane Outlaw on 5/28/2008 10:34AM
I am so unhappy about the Sean Bell trial. The law enforcement agency is murdering the very people they are to protect. Where can Blacks go, in the event of an emergency? Certainly - NOT the cops. Imagine living in a country, where it is okay to open fire on a citizen, sodomize a citizen, for NO REASON - and the government says it's okay. See cop hop. See cop run. See cop shoot Blacks, just for fun.....Newtoo
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By: Jamie on 6/27/2008 2:30PM
Check out this article in The Indypendent:
Obama’s Father’s Day Rap Overlooks Sean Bell
By Nicholas Powers
From the June 26, 2008 issue
On Father’s Day, two black men passed each other. One stepped into glory, the other emerged from his grief. The former was Senator Barack Obama, who took the pulpit at Chicago’s Apostolic Church of God to castigate absent black fathers. The other was William Bell, a black father who organized a rally for his son Sean Bell, killed by the NYPD upon leaving his bachelor party in November 2006. Two men, both fathers, divided by what they represent to America.
Obama began his Father’s Day speech, “If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit too many fathers are missing.” He loosed a cascade of archetypal scenes of black pathology; gunfire at night, boys on corners or in jail, each image ended with a plaintive “how many?” He demanded black fathers come off the streets, come back home, turn off “Sports Center” and raise their kids. Church-goers stood to applaud. They wanted him to testify against absent black fathers and in turn praise them. They were, after all, there with him bearing the burden of the fallen.
To read the full article go here:
www.indypendent.org/2008/06/24/obama-overlooks-bell/
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By: Anwalt für Arbeitsrecht on 9/01/2008 2:54AM
Hi,
I am sad to know about the Sean Bell trial. The law enforcement agency is murdering the very people they are to protect. Where can Blacks go, in the event of an emergency? Imagine living in a country, where it is okay to open fire on a citizen, sodomize a citizen, for NO REASON - and the government says it's okay. Where do we people go.
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By: Anwalt für Erbrecht on 9/01/2008 2:55AM
Hi,
This was a really very sad act by these copes. They deliberately were accused of it.
I agree that they are the police so no one asked them why they did so when there was a lot doubt behind and they just moved freely.
I think this tradition must be changed where innocent lose their lives in police operations over the world.
There be should be some serious thoughts given to it on international levels also to stop these bad habits.
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By: Che-Che on 8/07/2008 10:12PM
My Dear Brothers & Sisters:
I am a 53yr old woman who remembers where she was when Dr. King & President Kennedy & Robert Kennedy were cut down from treacherous idiots. I am also born on the same day as Dr. King, however, I subscribe to the teaching of early Malcolm X. I am now middle aged & severly disabled but am begging someone who has come after me to take up the banner of resistance against those who have made us targets for their folly. Enough already. Practice your constitutional rights to bear arms & protect your homes, families & communities. The Supreme Court just reiterated that this process is constitutional. Someone PLEASE re-engage the Black Panther Party, Fruits of Islam, Black Liberation Army....SOMETHING!! Please let us not continue to allow those who are unlike us or of us to just snatch our children, men & elders from us without retribution! No more marching. We need a new approach.
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