|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Violence and Politics in LA
| Article
# : |
10917 |
|
|
Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
|
| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1993 |
2,191 Words |
| Author
: |
Matthew Spalding
Matthew Spalding is a senior policy analyst at the Claremont
Institute. |
Riot season in LA could be off to a quick start this year. Two closely watched trails provide the catalysts: The first is a civil rights case against four white policemen accused of beating Rodney King; the second is a criminal case against three black men accused of attempting to murder Reginald Denny, a white truck driver beaten in the midst of last year's unrest. Both cases are based on graphic videotapes that have seared preordained verdicts into the public mind--rocket fuel for the smoldering embers of South Central Los Angeles when the juries announce their decisions.
The second Rodney King trail started in February. More than 6,000 invitations were sent to potential jurors. The 330 that respondent were given a 53-page survey with 148 questions intended to weed out biased participants (e.g., Did you, or any friend or relative, participate in the civil unrest? Have you ever been afraid of someone of another race?). After five days of questioning, an eight-man, four-woman jury--including nine whites, two blacks, and a Latino who has never seen the videotape of the beating--was selected.
So loud was the drumbeat against the policemen that the judge placed a gag order on a defense attorney who complained of the "mob mentality" against his client. A recent CBS poll had found that three of every four LA residents believed that if the police were let off again, there would be more rioting.
The case was based on statutes adopted after the Civil War to give federal authorities recourse against the Ku Klux Klan and law enforcement officers acting under "color of the law." But the probability of a conviction at the federal level was less than it was at the state trial. The jurors had to find that the officers used excessive force in beating King. The prosecution failed to establish this point the last time around. The jury also had to decide that the defendants "acted willfully" and thus violated King's civil rights. Federal prosecutors had to prove intent, a legal hurdle that state prosecutors did not have to address.
If the case against the officers was difficult, the case against Denny's assailants is incendiary. The three black men face possible life sentences in connection with the attack on Reginald Denny during the opening hours of the riots. Police and FBI agents identified the suspects by using local television footage that was shown live across the nation. The trial was scheduled to begin in mid-April.
Racial
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
