On New Years Day 2009, Oakland transit officer Johannes Mehserle executed Oscar Grant. Grant had been removed from a train, arrested, and was lying face down. Mehserle shot him in the back. The killing was videoed by at least five people in the surrounding crowd.
Today a jury (with no black members, of course) convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter, the lowest charge available. It carries a penalty of between two and four years in prison. That's all the life of a black man murdered by a white law enforcement officer is worth.
Once again, we have been reminded that there is no justice in America. White police can kill with impunity, and the law ignores it.
