Legislator Looks To Leave Grand Juries Out Of Killings By Police

A bill ready for the upcoming Georgia legislative session would change the way killings by police officers are investigated in Georgia.

State Representative Nikki Randall, a Macon democrat, says the effort is inspired in part by the lack of prosecution in Missouri of Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Michael Brown.

“Everybody knows it wasn’t just Ferguson. It’s also in New York and it’s also been other cases throughout history where you know, the grand jury, it may not be the best avenue to handle these sensitive cases,” Randall said.

Randall’s bill would leave grand juries out of the decision of whether or not to prosecute officers who have killed in the line of duty. In the grand jury’s place would be a special prosecutor appointed by the state attorney general. That’s the only change to investigations of killings by police specified by the bill, but Randall said she would be open to amending the bill to include a special role for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

Tags: Grant Blankenship, Georgia, General Assembly, law, legislation, Ferguson, police, justice, killing, death