Tamir Rice deserves a thorough investigation of any potential prosecutorial misconduct in the handling of his case

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    Tamir Rice deserves a thorough investigation of any potential prosecutorial misconduct in the handling of his case

    UPDATE 01/5/16: 

    Following the grand jury's decision to not indict Tamir's killers, Rice’s mother, Samaria Rice released the following remarks

    “My family and I are in pain and devastated by the non-indictment of officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback for the murder of our beloved Tamir. After this investigation—which took over a year to unfold—and Prosecutor McGinty’s mishandling of this case, we no longer trust the local criminal-justice system, which we view as corrupt.

    Prosecutor McGinty deliberately sabotaged the case, never advocating for my son, and acting instead like the police officers’ defense attorney. In a time in which a non-indictment who have killed an unarmed black child is business as usual, we mourn for Tamir, and for all of the black people who have been killed by the police without justice. In our view, this process demonstrates that race is still an extremely troubling and serious problem in our country and the criminal-justice system." -Samaria Rice, December 28, 2015

    Prosecutor McGinty has stooped to a new low. Throughout the grand jury process, McGinty released questionable expert reports justifying Tamir’s killing, attacked the family in the press. He used his press conference following the non-indictment to justify the officer's actions and is now saying he can't turn over the transcripts from the grand jury proceedings. Now it has been reported that the Grand Jury ws never given an opportunity to vote for an indictment at all after being told that the killing was justified by prosecutors.

    Instead of doing his job and recommending charges against the police who killed Tamir, he intentionally influenced the grand jury process away from even the most minimal of punishments for the cops who killed Tamir. Join us in calling for an Department of Justice investigation into Tamir's killing and any prosecutorial misconduct that followed.

    Here is a statement we will send on your behalf to US Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Please feel free to add a personal message in the box below.

    Dear US Attorney General Loretta Lynch,

    I am writing to request that you conduct a thorough investigation into the killing of Tamir Rice and the investigation and grand jury process that followed. As you know, Tamir was killed in less than two seconds by reckless and unqualified Cleveland Police officers. His family's suffering has only been exacerbated by the personal insults they have suffered at the hands of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty and his overt manipulation of the grand jury investigation. 

    Throughout the grand jury process McGinty leaked reports from discredited 'experts' claiming to value transparency but now refuses to make the the transcripts from the grand jury proceeding public.  When Tamir's mother, Samaria Rice, asked that he step aside to allow an objective special prosecutor to take over, he instead attacked her family in the press. McGinty has recently admitted that he told the grand jury that the killing was justified and that he never gave them the opportunity to vote on an indictment.

    It is incredibly difficult to hold police accountable for unjustified killings. Prosecutors have unchecked power to decide on bringing charges but often work too closely with officers to be objective. We have seen far too many cases where the grand jury process has been manipulated and used as cover for prosecutors who have no intention of seeking indictments.

    There are almost no mechanisms for holding local prosecutors accountable for misconduct but as the United States Attorney General you have the power and responsibility to ensure justice for Tamir by investigating the actions Cuyahoga County Police Department and Prosecutors Office. 

    Sincerely,

    [Your Name]

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