Justice and Race in the United States

The grand jury of a Missouri town decided not to prosecute a white policeman, Darren Wilson, who had killed Michael Brown, a young black man. Beyond the outrage incited in the little town of Ferguson due to the inconsistencies in evidentiary standards that free Wilson, there is a fundamental issue that persists in a nation that cannot free itself from an old ghost: racism.

The current figures provide a great deal to consider. Young black men have a 21 percent greater chance than white men of getting shot by the police. The statistics show that black men are arrested, prosecuted and condemned much more than white men. The first group spends 20 percent more time behind bars than the second group. In other words, there is definitely a serious underlying problem that is linked to prejudiced police and judicial systems that produce situations like the current one.

Brown’s case has created enormous controversy. First of all, because Wilson was not even prosecuted, so none of the controversial evidence was evaluated in a public hearing. All of the proceedings were put online for public knowledge, but that only succeeded in increasing the uncertainty. Had Brown stolen cigarettes just beforehand? It appears he had not. Did Wilson use all of the methods available to neutralize Brown? No. Was there proportionality in his self-defense upon shooting an unarmed civilian seven times? Definitely not. Were the legal protocols regarding Wilson’s first declaration after the shooting and the collection of evidence at the scene of the crime followed? No.

With these antecedents, the case came before the grand jury — the formation of which leaves everything to be desired. Nine of its 12 members were white, for a population of 21,000 inhabitants of which about 70 percent are black. In addition, the case’s prosecutor, the person in charge of taking the leading role, was a white man, known for his favoritism toward white policemen. In other words, the disproportion in each of the issues shown, together with the inconsistencies observed at first glance in the evidence, explain how the demonstrations in 170 cities across the country — among them New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Washington, Detroit, Seattle and New Orleans — are a rejection of the final decision. All of this with a black president who must appear balanced in order to call for peace on television, but at the same time has to try to adjust the burden facing a minority that in one way or another continues to be discriminated against.

So what can be done now? Right away, requests have emerged; some are viable, others less so. One is to reopen Wilson’s case and prosecute him so that the evidence is taken into consideration and the fallacies are corrected. That looks very unlikely, although there are some loopholes that could permit such a thing to be attempted. Another is to require, as happens in other cities, all officers to carry small video cameras that allow a third party to determine with greater certainty what occurs during police procedures. A third is to change the stereotypes that have encouraged major police brutality through national education and sensitivity campaigns. And so forth.

At the moment, Barack Obama has asked the Attorney General Eric Holder, also African-American, to hold meetings with police forces, local politicians and religious leaders to ensure that police actions “are fair and are being applied equally to every person.” That is a task that deserves all of the support possible. However, meanwhile, it came to light last Sunday that Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy, died at the hands of a police officer while he played in the street with a fake gun. Rice was black.