Racial tensions erupt in court- Spectator Yells out "Where are the Black Jurors?
Thursday, September 30, 2004 at 04:06PM
TheSpook
Courtroom spectators in a nearly packed Grant Superior
Court 1 erupted in tears and shouts after a 12-person jury found a
28-year old Marion man guilty of dealing drugs. "Where are the black
jurors?" someone called from the back of the courtroom after Judge
Jeffrey Todd read three guilty verdicts. Friends and family members,
many of whom were present for the duration of the two-day trial,
reacted emotionally after Nyeusi McCreary was convicted on a Class A
felony count of dealing in cocaine over 3 grams and two Class A
misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement. Several courtroom
spectators attempted to leave the courtroom, but Grant County sheriff's
deputies prevented people from leaving until after the jury was
escorted from the building. McCreary, sensing the tension in the
courtroom, shouted, "I love y'all. ... Don't do nothing stupid." Judge
Todd said courtrooms aren't sterile environments, especially when a
defendant is facing a Class A felony. McCreary, who is
African-American, as were all of the courtroom spectators, reacted to a
verdict rendered by a jury comprising 12 white people. As spectators
shouted, "Where's the justice?" and "Where are the black people?"
McCreary told them repeatedly to calm down.[more ]
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