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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Here comes your nineteenth nervous breakdown

Here comes your nineteenth nervous breakdown

by Tim F|  November 24, 20142:06 pm| 42 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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The Wilson grand jury finally made up its damn mind. Press conferences due later today. Try not to shoot yourself in the head.

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Reader Interactions

42Comments

  1. 1.

    Patricia Kayden

    November 24, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    We’ll survive. We’ll be upset, but we will survive.

  2. 2.

    Mike J

    November 24, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: At least the people who aren’t shot by the cops will.

  3. 3.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    November 24, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    I think that the response on the part of the residents of Ferguson will be non-violent, and I think the MSM is going to be sulky about it. Why didn’t they give us our riot footage? So mean!

  4. 4.

    Big ole hound

    November 24, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    Prediction. Wilson will not be charged. Otherwise why wait for a workday instead of last weekend for the “demonstrations” to start. I do hope I’m as wrong about this as my NFL card was this weekend.

  5. 5.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    November 24, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    At least the grand jury walked back their plan to create a weekend-long riot, which I guess is nice.

  6. 6.

    Belafon

    November 24, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): Maybe they can talk about the woman that shot herself with the gun she bought for Ferguson. (For the record, I kind of think the boyfriend did it).

  7. 7.

    Cacti

    November 24, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    The fix has been in since Jay Nixon preemptively declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard.

    Wilson will walk and will be making the rounds on Fox News and AM radio in the coming days.

  8. 8.

    srv

    November 24, 2014 at 2:17 pm

    If they had waited until Friday they could have gotten a nation-wide riot. Fox could have been a sponsor.

  9. 9.

    Laertes

    November 24, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    @Cacti:

    I’d say the fix has been in since McCulloch was given the case. For all practical purposes, Wilson has been on trial in a proceeding with a defense attorney and no prosecutor. They’re announcing their verdict today, but such a process has only one possible outcome.

  10. 10.

    The Dangerman

    November 24, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    @Cacti:

    …and will be making the rounds on Fox News and AM radio in the coming days.

    IANAL, but he could still be charged in the future even if the Grand Jury doesn’t indict. If I am correct and I was his lawyer, I’d tell him to shut his fucking mouth for the rest of his life (or until double jeopardy kicked in, which I presume means a trial).

    I’m still predicting indictment for something.

    ETA: Do we have a time for announcement?

  11. 11.

    Darkrose

    November 24, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    @The Dangerman: Is there any chance he could get tried for a civil rights violation?

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    November 24, 2014 at 2:32 pm

    @Darkrose:

    There was a story in the WaPo claiming there would be no civil rights prosecution, but the Justice Department strongly refuted the story, so it sounds like it may still be on the table.

  13. 13.

    TooManyJens

    November 24, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    And of course, after months of McCulloch saying that all of the evidence would be released if the grand jury didn’t indict, it turns out that that was apparently bullshit:

    For months, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch has promised to seek a court order immediately releasing nearly all evidence before the grand jury in the Michael Brown shooting case if Officer Darren Wilson is not indicted.

    And he has said that the judge overseeing the grand jury, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Carolyn Whittington, already has agreed to order such release if requested.

    But, with the grand jury’s decision expected this week, the county court’s top administrator on Sunday said no such agreement exists. He said Whittington has not agreed that she will release evidence in the grand jury review of the Aug. 9 shooting death of the unarmed teenager by the Ferguson police officer.

  14. 14.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 24, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    @The Dangerman: Sadly, my prediction is that there will be no MO state indictment. What the Dept of Justice will do is an open question (duh).

  15. 15.

    Betty Cracker

    November 24, 2014 at 2:44 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): It might still be on the table for political purposes, but it would be pretty damn hard to successfully prosecute Wilson for civil rights violations, given the standard of proof required and the available evidence (that we know about). I’ll be really surprised if the feds go that route, though it makes all kinds of sense for them to leave it on the table as an option so people don’t lose all hope for justice all at once.

    ETA: I’m not a lawyer; just my $0.02 after reading up on it.

    PS: Good luck with that interview!

  16. 16.

    skerry

    November 24, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    Tumbler page to coordinate national action after Grand Jury announcement

  17. 17.

    The Thin Black Duke

    November 24, 2014 at 2:54 pm

    I saw the trailer for Selma last weekend, and I thought to myself, “This ain’t history no more”. What the fuck happened?

  18. 18.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    November 24, 2014 at 2:55 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    They successfully prosecuted a couple of the Rodney King cops on federal charges, so I have some hope that there could be federal charges in Brown’s killing.

    And thanks! My palms are sweaty as hell and the interview’s not for another 3 hours. ☺️

  19. 19.

    Punchy

    November 24, 2014 at 2:59 pm

    Prediction. Wilson will not be charged.

    Predictions with similar probabilities: The sun rises in the East, the BoSox overspend for marginal players, and my spawn demands I read “Shoe La La” at bedtime tonite.

  20. 20.

    shelley

    November 24, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    God, three guesses. Fuckity-fuck.

  21. 21.

    Face

    November 24, 2014 at 3:15 pm

    Can they charge Wilson with something other than manslaughter? Conduct unbecoming, like in A Few Good Men?

  22. 22.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 3:17 pm

    OK, who in the betting pool picked today?

  23. 23.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 3:27 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): Good luck on the interview! Do some deep breathing exercises before you go in. If nothing else it’ll be good for you. Should also saturate your body with oxygen and both energize and calm you down some. Repeating some positive statements can also help: “I am smart and capable. I am a good fit for this job.” That kind of thing.

  24. 24.

    Timurid

    November 24, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    From the CNN live blog:

    “The grand jury looking into the shooting of Michael Brown has been released and sent home, local and federal law enforcement sources tell CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz. The prosecutor will formally announce at 5 p.m. ET that a decision has been reached by the grand jury. The announcement of the actual decision will come later, the sources said.”

    So they’re only going to announce that a decision was made, but no other details? Even with the jury released and no further changes possible? Are they planning to sit on this all week to protect Thanksgiving and Black Friday?

  25. 25.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    So I’m seeing announcement to come at 8pm. Just after nightly news and just in time for nightfall

  26. 26.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 3:35 pm

    @Timurid: That actually could mean that the jury returned a true bill on some count. Under MO law, an indictment cannot be announced until the defendant is in custody.

  27. 27.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 3:36 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Good luck!

    RE topic: Darren Wilson very recently married a fellow cop, with whom he’s apparently been living (although not at their house, which they abandoned not long after the M Brown shooting).

    My first thought: now she can’t testify against him.

    Maybe it was trulove …

  28. 28.

    Tree With Water

    November 24, 2014 at 3:41 pm

    Powers that be in the republican party relish the prospect of massive civil unrest. If that sounds over the top, recall those people plotted and unleashed the Iraq War.

  29. 29.

    Garbo

    November 24, 2014 at 3:43 pm

    @Elizabelle: My first thought, too.

  30. 30.

    TooManyJens

    November 24, 2014 at 3:51 pm

    @Garbo: Mine too. I’d feel bad about being so cynical but, well…

  31. 31.

    Another Holocene Human

    November 24, 2014 at 3:53 pm

    @Laertes: a-yup.

  32. 32.

    Another Holocene Human

    November 24, 2014 at 3:55 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: 30 years of hollowing out the American Dream brought all that reactionary white rage right back up to the surface.

    Also hate radio. I wouldn’t discount how much they normalized and affirmed more and more open racial hate and enacting that hatred. And they provide some sort of (made up) fodder every day to keep the fires burning.

    Hate propaganda works.

  33. 33.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 24, 2014 at 4:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: That’s a good point, in that it provides time for Wilson to turn himself in. Alas, I’m not that much of an optimist.

  34. 34.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    Per CNN (admittedly not the most reliable source) it will be announced today at 1700 that the grand jury has reached a decision. The decision itself will be announced “later.” I can still win the pool!

  35. 35.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 4:26 pm

    @WesleyLowery: From beginning, I’ve been told 2 pressers:
    1st Gov. Nixon urging everyone to remain calm.
    2nd prosecutor Bob McCulloch

  36. 36.

    gogol's wife

    November 24, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    What Violet said.

  37. 37.

    TooManyJens

    November 24, 2014 at 4:42 pm

    @jesseltaylor

    Ferguson will announce at 9 PM that the grand jury’s verdict is at the middle of a giant labyrinth protected by an armored Minotaur

    Sounds about right.

  38. 38.

    Michael Bersin

    November 24, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    The outgoing (due to term limits) Speaker of the Missouri House isn’t helping:

    Speaker Tim Jones (r): not particularly helpful or enlightening

  39. 39.

    catclub

    November 24, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    @Another Holocene Human:

    Hate propaganda works.

    Rwanda.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    @catclub:

    Rwanda.

    Oh, yeah. And for that reason, I think we should see that hate radio is dialed back. It’s not “entertainment.” It can have very real consequences.

  41. 41.

    bobbo

    November 24, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    re the woman who shot herself in the head:
    I am not buying the boyfriend’s story at all, sorry. She jokingly waved the gun, he ducked, rear ended another car, the gun went off, bullet got her in the head. Too many implausibles.

  42. 42.

    ellennellee

    November 24, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    isn’t this great? we get another george zimmerman in our midst.

    i’d say pass the popcorn for a parallel story arc, but could anything be more predictable or boring? or more disgusting.

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