Mike Brown's Family Must Rely on Biased Prosecutor to Charge Wilson

Mike Brown’s juvenile record may become public knowledge, thanks to a petition filed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a Californian journalist. A Circuit Court judge has taken the issue under advisement, meanwhile, the grand jury is stuck with controversial pro-police St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a court official shared that Brown was never found delinquent of any Class A or B felonies though it is not known whether Brown was accused of lesser crimes. Class A felonies include second-degree murder and first-degree robbery, and Class B felonies include voluntary manslaughter, second-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.

The request may seem odd to some but it exemplifies how some view Brown’s humanity — or lack thereof — because whatever he might’ve done in the past most likely had little to do with his death at the hands of Officer Darren Wilson. It’s like when Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released that questionable robbery video when finally confirming Darren Wilson as Brown’s killer. It’s like when the defense attorney in the Renisha McBride case wanted to present McBride’s social media accounts as proof that McBride was some sort of drug lord. What are we really talking about here? We’re talking about stereotypes and upholding them to accuse the dead for being to blame for their own murders.

In that moment on August 9, Wilson was probably unaware of Brown’s juvenile history, if the deceased even has one. But Brown was still shot dead and Wilson has yet to come forward, let alone be brought to justice nearly one month after fatally shooting Brown. It is almost September 9.

Meanwhile, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has lifted the state of emergency in Ferguson, according to the St. Louis-Dispatch, which is really convenient for him. Under the state of emergency he could nominate a special prosecutor to replace St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch who many locals, including a State Senator who wrote an open letter requesting his replacement, feel is biased toward the police. McCulloch comes from a big family of cops and his father was killed in the line of duty. But no matter now because where Nixon was dragging his feet, he now has officially removed his option to swap McCulloch for another attorney who might have justice as a goal. Now, Brown’s family must trust that McCulloch can convince a Grand Jury to bring charges against Darren Wilson.