Friday, May 9, 2014

Jury wants Occupy protestor put on probation instead of imprisoned for seven years

Nine of New York City 12 jurors who convicted Occupy protestor Cecily McMillan of elbowing a cop who grabbed one of her breasts has asked a judge to not send her to jail.
One of the jurors uploaded their letter to Judge Ronald Zweibel to Facebook.
Jurors interviewed after the trial said they were not given information that might have changed their verdict.
McMillan, who suffered numerous injuries while being detained and jailed in March 2012, faces a possible seven-year sentence amid a scandalous national backdrop of hundreds of cops have been accused and some convicted of unnecessarily fatally shooting and beating citizens, sometimes when they mistakenly thought their victims were carrying guns.
The “guns” have turned out to Coca Cola cans and mobile phones in some cases.
New York City has one of the worst reputations of police brutality, partly because cops can stop and search anyone they please. The majority of such searches are conducted on blacks.
New York City police, in a bid to win support, asked supporters to send Tweets to hashtag myNYPD.
The botched attempt at using social media resulted in more than 70,000 tweets complaining about police brutality, some accompanied by photos and videos.
The New York Daily News said it was the top trending tweet on the day it was posted.
In addition, spying by the NSA has even made it unsafe to talk on the phone or Internet.
Critics say McMillan was convicted by a kangaroo court because the jurors were not allowed to hear critical information. Her lawyers could not question the policeman she allegedly assaulted, and they were barred from being told the same cop, Grantley Bovell, had continued working and beating other protestors.
Bovell is being sued by another protestor, who claims he was assaulted by the officer.
The Huffington Post ridiculed the member of New York's Finest.
Huffington Post
She has held without bond since her conviction two weeks ago. Her sentencing is set for May 19.
The jurors’ letter said: .

“We the jury petition the court for leniency in the sentencing of Cecily McMillan,” they wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Guardian. “We would ask the court to consider probation with community service.

“We feel that the felony mark on Cecily's record is punishment enough for this case and that it serves no purpose to Cecily or to society to incarcerate her for any amount of time.”
Earlier a juror told the Guardian: “Most just wanted her to do probation, maybe some community service. But now what I'm hearing is seven years in jail? That's ludicrous. Even a year in jail is ridiculous."
Comedian Jon Stewart [Unlink] said only one banker has been jailed for the crimes Occupy was protesting, making McMillan’s case even more egregious.
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, who interviewed McMillan six days after she was arrested, said the defendant was covered in bruises on her neck and chest. She also is being treated for post traumatic stress disorder, and may be for life.
Three-thousand arrests were made the day McMillan was detained. Ninety percent of the cases were dismissed and no one went to prison.
Sources:
Guardian
Village Voice
Democracy Now

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