It required jurors to reach into the mind of former BART Officer Johannes Mehserle the morning of Jan. 1, 2009, when he fired that fatal shot into the back of Oscar Grant III. It required them to try to figure out what Mehserle was thinking with all the chaos around him on the platform of the Fruitvale station. It required them to second-guess whether the transit-system cop intended to reach for his gun or his Taser.
Involuntary manslaughter might seem an unsatisfying outcome for the killing of the unarmed Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009, but it was consistent with the evidence that could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt against former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle. Anything less would have been an injustice. Anything more would have required conclusions about Mehserle's state of mind that were not sufficiently supported in trial.
The jury deliberated less than seven hours to reach the verdict in the trial of former BART officer Johannes Mehserle for murdering Oscar Grant: involuntary manslaughter. In other words, although the former officer was found guilty of pulling a gun on Grant and shooting him in the back as he lay face down, hand-cuffed, on a platform, the jury did not find that Mehserle had any intent to end Grant's life when he pulled his gun and shot him in the back as he lay handcuffed on the platform, face down, with another officer's knee pushing into in his back.
Johannes Mehserle’s trial is drawing to a close in downtown Los Angeles. The prosecution rested its case after calling some 26 witnesses. Despite the parade of witnesses, the prosecution has not made a strong case for 1st degree murder. Yes, it is clear that Oscar Grant was killed without provocation. It appears that he did absolutely nothing to justify his murder. That part of the case is not in dispute.
Closing arguments in the case of People v. Johannes Mehserle could be held on Thursday, July 1, 2010. The defense for the former Bay Area Rapid transit officer, accused of the murder of Oscar Grant, is scheduled to call its last witness Tuesday, June 29.
When I was a child, we lived for some years in a small Ohio town with oak trees, robins, sparrows, bluejays, and sometimes a cardinal or two. It was a flat terrain, and there was no ocean anywhere nearby. My brother and I did pick a lot of blackberries, though, in the muggy summers.
The People v. Mehserle began in Los Angeles on June 10, 2010. The waters have been somewhat muddied, however, due to much of the mainstream media coverage surrounding this case.
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PART FIVE: Media Matters
The court system strives to make sure that jurors are fair, impartial, objective, and are capable of using reason and critical thinking skills.
One of the world's most aggressive attempts to combat poverty and social injustice gathers this summer in Detroit, one of the U.S. cities most devastated by the economic and social crises that affect so many U.S. areas, including the Bay Area.
The Oakland City Council is now focused on dealing with the budget crisis. A balanced budget must be passed by June 30th. A proposal has now been put forth to deal with part of the $40 million deficit.
A valiant, last minute effort by Michael Rains was defeated one day before opening arguments in People v. Johannes Mehserle. On June 9, Judge Robert Perry denied three motions by the defense aimed at keeping out testimony and evidence that may have a negative impact on the former transit officer.
Mehserle is charged with murder in the death of 22-year old Oscar Grant. Mehserle was videotaped shooting an unarmed Grant the morning of January 1, 2009 at the Fruitvale BART station.
Carletta Sue Kay
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