Grand Jury Reform One Year After Ferguson and Staten Island
The recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York, have sparked a national debate about the need for grand jury reform.
In Ferguson, a grand jury declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. In Staten Island, a grand jury declined to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.
These decisions have led to widespread protests and calls for changes to the grand jury system. Critics of the current system argue that it is biased against people of color and that it gives prosecutors too much power.
There are a number of proposals for reforming the grand jury system. Some proposals include requiring that grand juries be more diverse, making it easier to indict police officers, and giving defendants the right to have an attorney present during grand jury proceedings.
It is too early to say whether any of these proposals will be adopted. However, the debate over grand jury reform is likely to continue in the wake of the Ferguson and Staten Island decisions.
Komentar