David Harsanyi: The Grand Jury Got It Right on Darren Wilson

For many, the St. Louis County grand jury’s
decision was going to confirm the existence of deep American
injustice one way or another. If it found there was insufficient
evidence for an indictment against Darren Wilson—the white police
officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, a black teenager, in
August in Ferguson, Missouri—it would mean that the American
justice system is corrupt, unjust, and rife with racism. If the
grand jury decided to move forward with an indictment, it could
only mean that American law enforcement is corrupt, unjust, and
rife with racism.

But even if many of these grievances are legitimate, “justice”
doesn’t exist to soothe your anger, writes David Harsanyi. In the
end, there wasn’t probable cause to file charges against
Wilson.

That doesn’t mean that many American’s concerns about these
kinds of incidents aren’t genuine, and it doesn’t mean that police
departments like the one in Ferguson aren’t a major problem, argues
Harsanyi. It only means that this incident should be judged on the
evidence, not the politics or the past or what goes on elsewhere.
Indicting Wilson to soothe the anger of the community would not be
just. It would be the opposite.

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