# How royally screwed is the Ferguson cop Darren Wilson?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 20, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043 "2014-08-20T21:48:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/1 "2014-08-20T21:48:57Z")
The governor issues a video statement calling for a vigorous prosecution in the shooting death of Michael Brown. Note also that he’s calling on the attorney general of the United States to achieve justice for Michael Brown. Blatantly assuming his state’s own prosecution might not be enough. This is all before the grand jury has even convened. Meanwhile the Attorney General has been making similar dramatic statements for days. Demanding a Federal autopsy and putting the full resources of the justice dept unto the investigation.
Our jury system wasn’t designed to withstand this kind of onslaught. Everyone involved in this case will feel the pressure to make an example out of this cop. The state and federal investigators, prosecutors, judges and juries will know their marching orders. Find a way to convict this guy. Evidence be dammed.
I don’t know enough about this case to even guess if he’s innocent or guilty. Not one piece of evidence has been heard in court. I’m beginning to seriously doubt he will get a fair trial. The grand jury wouldn’t dare fail to indict him. It’s a given he’ll face both state and federal trials.
Is there any chance Darren Wilson will get a fair trial in this politicized environment?
[http://news.yahoo.com/gov-nixon-calls-vigorous-prosecution-darren-wilson-041624592.html](http://news.yahoo.com/gov-nixon-calls-vigorous-prosecution-darren-wilson-041624592.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Not content with a regular prosecution or a vigorous investigation, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said he hopes that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson will receive a “vigorous prosecution” in the shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 9.
>
> “A vigorous prosecution must now be pursued,” Nixon said in a five minute video address posted to his website Tuesday.
>
> “The democratically elected St. Louis county prosecutor and the attorney general of the United States each have a job to do,” said Nixon, a Democrat.
>
> “Their obligation to achieve justice in the shooting death of Michael Brown must be carried out thoroughly, promptly, and correctly,” said Nixon of investigators.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/2 "2014-08-20T21:54:13Z")
There shouldn’t even _be_ a trial.
No crime has been committed, and for a Democrat, Nixon has been engaged in nothing but utterly comtemptible, spineless cover-my-own-ass behavior ever since this manufactroversy hit the news.
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### Author:  [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/3 "2014-08-20T21:55:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> Is there any chance Darren Wilson will get a fair trial in this politicized environment?
I know next to nothing about the actual facts of the case, but I shudder to think about the reaction to an acquittal.
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### Author:  [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/4 "2014-08-20T22:00:34Z")
Well, I remember thinking George Zimmerman and the L.A. cops who beat up Rodney King were screwed too. It’s way too early for predictions. If he is indicted, a lot will depend on where the trial(s) take place and the makeup of the jury.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/5 "2014-08-20T22:01:35Z")
If it turns out to be true that Brown did indeed rush the guy, I’m hoping this doesn’t go to trial.
And this is coming from a guy that was all too ready to crucify the cop when the story broke.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/6 "2014-08-20T22:03:57Z")
The LA cops, Koon and Powell were convicted and sentenced to thirty months in federal correctional camps by a Federal Court. They were acquitted in state court.
> **[An Account of the Los Angeles Police Officers' Trials(The
Rodney King...](http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/lapdaccount.html)**
>
> A detailed account of the state
> and federal trials involving the beating administered to Rodney
> King in March 1991, and videotaped by George Holliday.
> [@SaharaTea](#):
>
> Well, I remember thinking George Zimmerman and the L.A. cops who beat up Rodney King were screwed too. It’s way too early for predictions. If he is indicted, a lot will depend on where the trial(s) take place and the makeup of the jury.
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### Author:  [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/7 "2014-08-20T22:09:11Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> No crime has been committed…
Say what?
How many minorities must an LEO murder in cold blood before it’s considered a crime? Or is there truly no upper bound?
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### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/8 "2014-08-20T22:09:14Z")
The comparison to Zimmerman is apt, I think.
I don’t see any reason to believe that this will be any different. There was never any crime committed. The police realized that immediately, hence the initial failure to prosecute. After public pressure, various authorities will attempt a prosecution, which fail based on the same information that caused the initial failure to prosecute. Then the same people who protested initially will have an additional protest because they still won’t believe/trust the decision of a jury.
Of course, we don’t have complete information about this case and it may be that there are reasons (unknown to me) to make it different from Zimmerman.
In any event, I do believe the cop will wind up with a fair trial that will have a reasonable finding based on the facts. I actually believe that this is mostly true for most trials in which defendants are adequately represented.
In some ways, I think the unfair aspect is that the trial will be conducted at all; crimes should be brought to trial on their merits, not based on public opinion. The hassle of a lengthy trial is a sort of punishment all on its own.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/9 "2014-08-20T22:13:47Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Say what?
>
> How many minorities must an LEO murder in cold blood before it’s considered a crime? Or is there truly no upper bound?
One.
Let me know when they reach that number.
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### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/10 "2014-08-20T22:15:25Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Say what?
>
> How many minorities must an LEO murder in cold blood before it’s considered a crime? Or is there truly no upper bound?
The answer is zero.
Which, coincidentally, appears to be the same number of cold-blooded murders committed in this case.
Not all deaths are murders. Not all murders are cold-blooded. The evidence has not shown that either label is true in this case.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/11 "2014-08-20T22:16:01Z")
I haven’t been following this much but I read today that Wilson was attacked by Brown and had to be hospitalized afterwards. If so, I don’t know how they would get a conviction if that is true (unless Wilson shot him out of anger about being beaten up).
However reading up on it the only sites mentioning this are right wing sites (which have a bias in favor of anyone who shoots a black male youth it seems). I haven’t seen this story about Wilson being attacked on mainstream media outlets.
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### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/12 "2014-08-20T22:25:49Z")
I am more outraged by the random verbal and physical abuse by police on citisens than I am the occassional shooting which has nore tragic consequences. Police officers have many times made mistakes and killed innocent people but it was usually done out of fear based on either real or peceived threats. I don’t know the facts to this case but I am not convinced that any crime has been commited.
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### Author:  [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/13 "2014-08-20T23:42:19Z")
If the cop was attacked, then this doesn’t even go to trial. Given how little we know I’m surprised that the governor is calling for a prosecution.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/14 "2014-08-20T23:46:32Z")
ABC nightly news reported the officer sustained an eye socket injury. They also reported a cell phone caught a witness commenting that the cop was bum rushed.
\ Maybe this guy won’t get railroaded after all. I don’t know. It’s bad news when the Governor of Missouri and US Attorney General are looking for a scapegoat. I’d hate to be in this cop’s shoes right now.
> **[Ferguson Cop Had 'Serious Facial Injury,' Source Tells ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-shooting-grand-jury-decide-october-charge-cop/story?id=25047905)**
>
> The Ferguson police officer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager suffered “a serious facial injury” in the altercation before firing the fatal shots, according to a source close to the officer who spoke to ABC News today.
> [@](#):
>
> The Ferguson police officer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager suffered “a serious facial injury” in the altercation before firing the fatal shots, according to a source close to the officer who spoke to ABC News today.
>
> The characterization about Officer Darren Wilson being injured in his confrontation with Michael Brown emerged on the day that a grand jury was expected to begin hearing evidence in the shooting. Attorney General Eric Holder is also visiting Ferguson today, meeting with community leaders and groups to discuss the tension over the shooting
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### Author:  [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/15 "2014-08-21T00:50:02Z")
calling for a “vigerous prosecution” does not equal convicting the guy - or that it even goes to court - it simply means to “institute legal proceedings” or to “follow it thru to the end” - it sure does sound good from a microphone tho.
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/16 "2014-08-21T01:33:10Z")
> [@simster](#):
>
> calling for a “vigerous prosecution” does not equal convicting the guy - or that it even goes to court - it simply means to “institute legal proceedings” or to “follow it thru to the end” - it sure does sound good from a microphone tho.
This.
For those saying that the Missouri Governor wants Wilson railroaded, he could have easily bowed to pressure from some of the public to ask the St. Louis DA to recuse himself and clear the way for a special prosecutor, but has not done so.
It’s a bit foolish to make any firm predictions, given that there will probably be at least a month of Grand Jury review before we even know if he’s charged with anything at all, but really, I think the weight of history in these sorts of incidents leans in favor of the cop.
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### Author:  [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/17 "2014-08-21T02:46:27Z")
> [@simster](#):
>
> calling for a “vigerous prosecution” does not equal convicting the guy - or that it even goes to court - it simply means to “institute legal proceedings” or to “follow it thru to the end” - it sure does sound good from a microphone tho.
What should be being called for is thorough investigation, ideally a separate police force, not pre-empting that investigation by calling for a prosecution at this point.
One might hope that the publicity will help him get a fair trial - it certainly seemed to help George Zimmerman, although I doubt Wilson will need donations to pay his legal bills. The problems will come if he’s not convicted, and has to somehow try to rebuild his life. If that does happen, it would be wise to remember that, if the story that he was attacked is correct, then he, not Michael Brown, is the victim here.
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### Author:  [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/18 "2014-08-21T03:01:29Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> There shouldn’t even _be_ a trial.
>
> No crime has been committed, and for a Democrat, Nixon has been engaged in nothing but utterly comtemptible, spineless cover-my-own-ass behavior ever since this manufactroversy hit the news.
Bullshit. You have no idea whether a crime has been committed. Given we know almost nothing about what happened, I think it’s pretty early to start to comment either way.
What is clear is that this case has been poorly handles from the start. Regardless of what happened, there needed to be far more transparency on the part of LE and government.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/19 "2014-08-21T03:17:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> ABC nightly news reported the officer sustained an eye socket injury. They also reported a cell phone caught a witness commenting that the cop was bum rushed.
>
> \ Maybe this guy won’t get railroaded after all. I don’t know. It’s bad news when the Governor of Missouri and US Attorney General are looking for a scapegoat. I’d hate to be in this cop’s shoes right now.
>
> [http://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-shooting-grand-jury-decide-october-charge-cop/story?id=25047905](http://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-shooting-grand-jury-decide-october-charge-cop/story?id=25047905)
As I said somewhere deep in the Pit thread right now we really don’t know what the witness testimony is. A lot of people like to become the center of attention and tell everyone what they saw. Once they start getting a My Cousin Vinnie style interview under oath their story often changes. Maybe they came in just after it happened and inferred what they think happened. Maybe they heard it from someone else. That’s true of any rumored testimony either for or against. Hopefully everyone is truthful under oath.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-royally-screwed-is-the-ferguson-cop-darren-wilson/696043/20 "2014-08-21T03:23:48Z")
> [@brickbacon](#):
>
> Bullshit. You have no idea whether a crime has been committed. Given we know almost nothing about what happened, I think it’s pretty early to start to comment either way.
>
> What is clear is that this case has been poorly handles from the start. Regardless of what happened, there needed to be far more transparency on the part of LE and government.
Transparency how? If you require law enforcement to release the information in active investigations piecemeal as it comes it the case will be tainted and the police will be paralyzed. Missouri seems to have a very strong open records act that was one of the first enacted around the country. The results of the investigation will be released. If the grand juries no bill then it will all come out soon. If there is an indictment I’m sure the prosecution will ask for it to be held until trial so as not to taint the jury pool. I’m sure there are 12 people under a rock somewhere in Missouri that haven’t formed an opinion yet.
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