The Philando Castile Jury Was Stacked With Pro-Gun, Pro-Cop, Middle-Aged White People

‘Dashcam footage of the exact moment Philando Castile was murdered by Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was released late Tuesday. The video proves two things: Castile could not have been more compliant, and Yanez responded to that compliance with violence and seven rounds of gunfire. There is no ambiguity in the footage or the audio, no doubt that Yanez was unqualified to be carrying that gun, no question he was a far greater danger to Minnesota’s citizens than the man he killed. To watch that scene and not believe Philando Castile was murdered is to believe black life has no inherent right to exist.
The jury was shown the footage several times over the course of Yanez’s criminal trial, yet they chose to acquit him on all charges. It’s a verdict that’s maddeningly, infuriatingly and heartbreakingly illogical, yet consistent with the outcome in every case of cops who are tried for killing innocent black people. The U.S. system of criminal injustice fails black folks from start to finish by design. A more intimate look at the jurors in Yanez’s criminal case, compiled by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, offers not only insights into how they arrived at their decision, but a look at just how well-stacked the jury was against a just verdict for Castile.’

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