/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f8f3fdaf8c79e5a8d2e6036/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=6192&cropY1=320&cropY2=3803&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Denied Opportunity To Weigh Homicide Charges, Juror Says")
Topline
The grand jury deciding charges against three officers involved in the March death of Breonna Taylor was not given the opportunity to consider homicide, an anonymous member of the jury said Tuesday.
Attorney Ben Crump and Tamika Palmer, mother of Breonna Taylor, leave a news conference on September … [+]
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Key Facts
“The grand jury was not presented any charges other than the three Wanton Endangerment charges,” the juror said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon, shortly after a judge approved a motion from the juror to make the case’s proceedings public.
The juror said that questions were asked about additional charges but “the grand jury was told there would be none because the prosecutors didn’t feel they could make them stick.”
National outrage was sparked by the jury’s failure in September to charge any of the three officers for shooting 20 rounds into Taylor’s apartment on March 13, fatally striking the sleeping 26-year-old, while charging just one, Brett Hankinson, over shots fired into a neighbor’s apartment.
When announcing the decision, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron seemed to pass blame to the grand jury for results he acknowledged would anger many.
However, Cameron later admitted that he did not present any murder charges to the grand jury that was empaneled to hear Taylor’s case, insisting: “If they wanted to make an assessment about different charges, they could have done that.”
The juror’s testimony is at odds with the statement from Cameron, who did not did not immediately respond to questions from Forbes.
Crucial Quote
“After hearing the Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s press conference, and with my duty as a grand juror being over, my duty as a citizen compelled action,” wrote the juror. “The grand jury did not have homicide offenses explained to them. The grand jury never heard anything about those laws.”
Key Background
The juror’s statement was released shortly after Jefferson Circuit Judge Annie O’Connell ruled that the anonymous juror could break the customary secrecy restrictions and speak publicly about what happened during jury proceedings. Attorney General Cameron asked the court to stay the juror’s order until an appeals court could hear the issue, citing concerns about setting a “dangerous legal precedent” by “destroying the principle of secrecy that serves as the foundation of the grand jury system.” O’Connell issued a second ruling on Tuesday knocking down Cameron’s appeal.
What To Watch For
Earlier this month, CNN reported that a second grand juror from the case is exploring the possibility of speaking out.
Further Reading
“Judge Rules Breonna Taylor Juror Can Speak Publicly About Case” (Forbes)
“Outrage In Louisville After Breonna Taylor Decision” (Forbes)
“Second grand juror in Breonna Taylor case interested in speaking out, Louisville activist says” (CNN)
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