United Liberty

More news in the continuing trial for Johannes Mehserle, a Bay Area Rapid Transit District officer who shot and killed a suspect:

OAKLAND, Calif.—The trial of a white former transit officer accused of fatally shooting an unarmed black man will be moved out of Alameda County, a judge ruled Friday.

Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson said in his 28-page ruling the circumstances of the New Year’s Day slaying, the violent protests that erupted in Oakland afterwards, intense media scrutiny and fears of shielding jurors and witnesses from any possible civil unrest, justified granting a change of venue.

Former Bay Area Rapid Transit District officer, Johannes Mehserle, 27, has been charged with killing Oscar Grant, 22, who had been pulled off a train for allegedly fighting when he was shot on an Oakland station platform. Mehserle has pleaded not guilty.

“The nature of this crime has an implied racial aspect to it in that the defendant is Caucasian and the victim was African American,” Jacobson wrote.

 

“This case may well be a close one and difficult for some or all of the jurors to decide. Under these circumstances, there is a reasonable probability that (Mehserle) cannot get a fair trial,” he said.

I hope that Mehserle gets to experience a fair trial and the due process that Oscar Grant didn’t recieve. I’ve heard alot of apologists for Mehserle’s actions point to Grant’s extensive rap sheet and criminal history, as if that is a justification for shooting and killing an unarmed man in handcuffs.