No Justice for Gray

Charges dropped

In July, the office of the state's attorney in Baltimore dropped all charges against the remaining officers awaiting trial in connection with the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody last April. An autopsy had found that Gray died from injuries suffered while being transported in a police van.

At this point, Officers Edward Nero, Caesar Goodson, and Brian Rice have all been found not guilty of various charges at bench trials; another officer, William Porter, got a hung jury. The remaining officers faced similar or less severe charges. Internal investigations involving outside agencies remain underway, but all the officers who were suspended without pay are expected to receive back pay. The trials cost an estimated $7.5 million.

"After much thought and prayer it has become clear that without being able to work with an independent investigatory agency from the very start, without having a say in the election of whether cases proceed in front of a judge or jury, without communal oversight of police in this community, without substantive reforms to the current criminal justice system, we could try this case 100 times and cases just like it and we would still end up with the same result," said the state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, pointing to the inherent bias when "police police themselves."