Marijuana possession is not reason enough for Ramarley Graham to be dead. The Mayor needs to begin an investigation.
Robert Johnson, Bronx DA, Slams Judge Who Dismissed Charges Against Ramarley Graham's Killer (click here)
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson is slamming a judge who dropped charges against a police officer in the fatal February 2012 shooting of an unarmed teenager. Meanwhile, the judge blamed the prosecutors for screwing up their grand jury instructions.
Robert Johnson, Bronx DA, Slams Judge Who Dismissed Charges Against Ramarley Graham's Killer (click here)
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson is slamming a judge who dropped charges against a police officer in the fatal February 2012 shooting of an unarmed teenager. Meanwhile, the judge blamed the prosecutors for screwing up their grand jury instructions.
"It cannot be said more forcefully that we disagree with the court," Johnson said in a statement. He added he was weighing whether to bring the case to another grand jury or to appeal the decision to a higher court.
Judge Steven Barrett dismissed manslaughter charges against Police Officer Richard Haste yesterday for killing Ramarley Graham, saying that prosecutors erred in their presentation to the grand jury.
Graham's mother, Constance Malcolm, screamed, "They killed my child," as the judge moved toward his ruling from the bench....
This death happened as Governor Cuomo is seeking to decriminalize marijuana possession.
This death happened as Governor Cuomo is seeking to decriminalize marijuana possession.
NEW YORK |
(Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (click here) announced new legislation on Monday to decriminalize public possession of small amounts of marijuana, lowering the penalty from a misdemeanor to a non-criminal offense.
The measure - which strikes indirectly at the New York Police Department's controversial stop and frisk program - seeks to eliminate a nuance in state law that differentiates between public and private possession of the drug.
At present, first time offenders who are found to be carrying less than 25 grams of marijuana on their person are supposed to be issued a non-criminal violation ticket, similar to a traffic ticket, while those observed to be openly displaying a small amount of the drug - in an upturned palm, for instance - are often arrested on a misdemeanor criminal charge.
But critics of the NYPD's stop and frisk program say minority residents in high-crime areas are routinely arrested and charged criminally, following stops and searches by police that turn up small amounts of the drug in their pockets....
