A top official from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. called the grand jury decision “horrific” and “extraordinarily disappointing,” and described it as part of a broader problem exposed by the shooting death of a black man by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.
“It’s indicative of this presumption of criminality of black people, and black men in particular, that plagues our society,” said the official, Janai Nelson, associate director-counsel of the fund. “I’m hoping that the frustration and anger and outrage that results from yet another miscarriage of justice will be channeled toward really exposing how this bias affects our entire criminal justice system, and that we can really get some reform.”
— JULIE HIRSCHFIELD DAVIS