Devaluation of black lives infects America to its core

It wasn’t really a surprise. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray laid out a careful case for why his office, following an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, decided not to charge Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Brentley Vinson in the shooting death of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott, who is African-American. Murray said he found no legal wrongdoing. Scott had a gun, Murray said the evidence showed that Scott didn’t drop it when officers shouted at him to do just that, and Vinson said he felt he had no choice, that he and his “buddies” were threatened.

In a police shooting case in Charlotte, fewer headlines but familiar call for justice

CHARLOTTE — Now it’s Charlotte’s turn in an unwanted spotlight. The story is familiar – white police officer, unarmed black man, a shooting and the one without the gun dead in the street. Loved ones grieve, a mother holds a Winnie the Pooh doll from a childhood not too many years past and protesters demand action.

Charlotte is not Ferguson, Mo., or New York City – not this time. Randall Kerrick, the 28-year-old officer who killed 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell in September 2013, was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter. And now the public waits for a resolution. Kerrick made his first, brief court appearance on Thursday. The next is scheduled for early next year – this will take a while.

Grand jury decides not to indict officer in N.C. shooting, but questions remain

CHARLOTTE – It’s a situation that won’t end quickly or easily. In a case that has drawn national attention, a Mecklenburg County grand jury did not indict a police officer on Tuesday on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of an unarmed man.

Grand Jury Won’t Indict Officer Randall Kerrick, but Case Is Far From Over


Charlotte, N.C.- A Grand Jury decides not to indict the CMPD officer, accused of killing unarmed man Jonathan Ferrell. Tuesday’s decision leaves mixed emotions for both sides. Washington Post Columnist Mary C. Curtis joined Rising to break down what’s next in the case.