STATEMENT BY REV. AL SHARPTON ON THE DECISION BY JUDGE GARNETT NOT TO RELEASE TESTIMONY FROM THE GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS IN THE ERIC GARNER CASE

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Mar 19, 2015

NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK

Reverend Al Sharpton, President

Thursday, March 19, 2015

STATEMENT BY REV. AL SHARPTON ON THE DECISION BY JUDGE GARNETT NOT TO RELEASE TESTIMONY FROM THE GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS IN THE ERIC GARNER CASE

“The decision by Judge William Garnett shows a stunning disregard for the right of the public to know how the grand jury was conducted in a case where the public can clearly see on video that this case should have met the standards for a prima facie case.

A grand jury does not determine conviction and it only determines whether there is enough evidence to go to trial. If a video of a man being choked and saying eleven times ‘I can’t breathe’ was not enough to go to trial, only a release of the grand jury minutes could explain to us why it was not.

With the Judge’s decision, the public is left to speculate as to why not, or to assume that the District Attorney did not present all of the available evidence to the grand jury.

The Garner family will join me this Saturday at National Action Network’s Saturday Action Rally to announce their next legal steps as we continue to appeal to the United States Department of Justice on this matter.”

–Reverend Al Sharpton, President of National Action Network

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