NAACP Calls For New Ferguson Grand Jury Citing Multiple Concerns With November Decision

Nearly six weeks after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has asked a Missouri judge to convene a panel to reconsider charges. A letter was submitted Monday to Circuit Judge Maura McShane, asking for a special prosecutor to oversee the case and an investigation of the previous grand jury, citing “grave legal concerns” in its decision not to charge Wilson, 28.

The Associated Press reported the NAACP was concerned about the decision to allow a witness to provide false testimony, erroneous legal advice to the grand jury and what it called “preferential treatment” from the St. Louis prosecutor's office.

Wilson shot an unarmed Brown, 18, Aug. 9 while on patrol and after Brown raided a local convenience store. Immediately after the shooting protests broke out around the city and later nationwide.

Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, whose police officer father was shot to death by a black suspect, said he had other prosecutors present evidence to the grand jury to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Some had called for McCulloch to be removed from the case altogether.

Since the grand jury’s decision was revealed, state Rep. Karla May, a St. Louis Democrat, has called for an investigation of McCulloch, who mentioned in a radio interview some witnesses lied to the grand jury. McCulloch said one women had claimed to have seen the shooting but "clearly wasn't present. She recounted a story right out of the newspaper.”

The NAACP fund has also taken issue with some faulty legal instructions given to jurors. While the information was later corrected, it was thought that some of the jurors were left confused.