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    RegalAlienKara Brown
    6/23/16 12:53pm

    He intended to bully and intimidate and hurt a suspect, didn’t he? He may not have intended for him to die, but since when does that matter? Vehicular manslaughter is a crime without intent, so is criminal negligence.

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      My_Life_Is_a_Fart_JokeRegalAlien
      6/23/16 2:04pm

      But he wasn’t charged with vehicular manslaughter or criminal negligence, he was charged with a crime that requires establishing intent. This is actually a way prosecutors can evade getting a conviction; charge a police officer with a more severe form of the crime that the prosecution will not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, while not charging an alternative count of a lesser form of the crime that the prosecution would be able to prove.

      ETA: Whoops, I just read further down that he was charged with negligence-based offenses as well. In which case this verdict seems pretty bullshitty.

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      RegalAlienMy_Life_Is_a_Fart_Joke
      6/23/16 2:20pm

      Exactly (re:your ETA). I know the overcharging strategy has been employed in the way you point out, and I can even sort of understand how the manslaughter charge didn’t stick. But you bet he was negligent and recklessly endangered someone.

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    Andrew DaisukeKara Brown
    6/23/16 12:16pm

    This is total bullshit.

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      BDCBAndrew Daisuke
      6/23/16 12:21pm

      Seems like a perfect illustration of the Bumble Doctrine.

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      fishessowonderfulAndrew Daisuke
      6/23/16 12:30pm

      I’m especially confused about the judge’s comment that the officer didn’t “intend” any crime to happen. That’s what the criminal negligence charge was for- you don’t need to intend to hurt someone, you just need to act in a way that disregards their safety.

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    SheeshTheseNamesKara Brown
    6/23/16 12:19pm

    So the person who drove the van, made several stops and turns unnecessary to get to the police station, is not responsible. The man was unsecured and had his fucking neck broken after being UNLAWFULLY ARRESTED IN THE FIRST PLACE, and the driver of the van did nothing wrong. OK.

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      anonymouse119SheeshTheseNames
      6/23/16 1:27pm

      None of that is actually true at all. I watched the trial for several days and have been following it closely. There was no evidence of a rough ride, and it became known later that the prosecutors were wrong about the false arrest. The knife that Freddie Gray carried was legal under state law but illegal under city law. The judge is extremely fair and gave a lot of latitude to the prosecution even after they hid exculpatory evidence from the defense and he gave them every opportunity to prove their case and they didn’t.

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      SheeshTheseNamesanonymouse119
      6/23/16 3:09pm

      Well, there’s a dead man with a broken neck who begs to differ. I take that as excellent evidence that something murderous happened to him, considering he wasn’t broken and dead when he was arrested.

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    LadyLaLaKara Brown
    6/23/16 12:24pm

    “Acquitted of any wrongdoing” is extremely misleading. He was acquitted because the prosecution failed to prove each element of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

    The judge may believe he was wrong, bad or evil and still legally acquit him. Basically, this says nothing about whether he did something “wrong.”

    ETA: judge, not jury. Same standard applies.

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      SheeshTheseNamesLadyLaLa
      6/23/16 12:28pm

      Those details don’t matter in the end. A man was falsely arrested, painfully tortured, and murdered, and so far, the court is saying that no one is responsible for those things. That is a problem.

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      MichaelLadyLaLa
      6/23/16 12:28pm

      There was no jury.

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    ILikeThunderstormsKara Brown
    6/23/16 12:55pm
    GIF

    Fuck everything.

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      ladyjane1012Kara Brown
      6/23/16 1:15pm

      Maybe this is too cynical, but I feel like the prosecutors were reaching with charging murder. Isn’t there some sort of criminal endangerment or negligence charge? Obviously this is far, far too lenient for a man’s death... but it may have gotten a conviction and at least some (a little) justice and recognized that someone was at fault.

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        RegalAlienladyjane1012
        6/23/16 1:46pm

        He faced those charges too! “faced seven charges including involuntary manslaughter, criminal negligence and reckless endangerment.” I’m shocked that none of those stuck. Just appalling.

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      all my friends are problematic (aka do the truffle-shuffle)Kara Brown
      6/23/16 12:15pm

      Fuuuuck. If they can't even convict the driver of the van - the one directly responsible for his injury and death - there's no way they'll convict any of the others. This is a fucking travesty.

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        whskygirlall my friends are problematic (aka do the truffle-shuffle)
        6/23/16 12:36pm

        I agree. I wasn’t really surprised when the last two were acquitted, but I thought for sure the van driver was going to be indicted. I am really depressed about this.

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      FeralFrigidSlutKara Brown
      6/23/16 12:26pm

      Can a lawyer please explain to me how lack of intent impacts a negligence charge?

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        F14ScottKara Brown
        6/23/16 12:47pm

        Maybe the overzealous DA should have a) prosecuted them on more winnable charges, b) presented better evidence, or c) both.

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          No-Mi SkyeKara Brown
          6/23/16 12:56pm

          Freddie Gray is dead and it’s apparently no one’s fault. I’m surprised they don’t just say to rule it as a suicide.

          So fucking disrespectful and gross that no one will be held accountable for this guy’s death. If any of them believe in the “judgement day,” I hope they’re ready for it. No god should be okay with what happened to that kid.

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