Oscar Grant Verdict Comes Back as Involuntary Manslaughter; Bloggers React

Of course there are professions where life-or-death decisions and judgments need to be made in absurdly short periods of time. And we always hope that the people making these decisions are well-trained, ethical professionals who possess consummate skills and respect for their fellow human beings.

Sometimes good people make honest mistakes when they are doing their best. And sometimes not-so-good people make mistakes when they're not doing their best.

And both kinds of people, when they make egregious mistakes, are judged by the legal system. What color they are, their age, their profession, how much money they make, and where they are from shouldn't matter.

"Shouldn't" is the key word. The legal system, like society as a whole, is filled with biases small and large.

There are a lot of tragedies in this story; the biggest is that an officer made an incorrect judgment that took a citizen's life.

If some can believe a trained officer can confuse a taser with a gun, it's likely others will believe a Los Angeles jury can confuse justice with injustice.

http://thingsididandsaid.blogspot.com/

THAT WAS ALSO USED IN A LOCAL CASE A FEW YEARS BACK WHERE AND UNARMED MAN WAS SHOT BY A FEMALE OFFICER WHO THOUGHT SHE HAD HER TASER. THING IS THE GUY WAS IN THE BACK OF THE POLICE CAR AND GRANT IN THIS CASE WAS LAYING PRONE, SO MAYBE OFFICERS NEED TO PLACE THAT TASER SOMEWHERE ELSE SO THAT CANNOT USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE FOR THEIR ACTIONS.

LIKE I POSTED ON FACEBOOK WHEN I SAW THIS IN MY FEED I STILL AND WILL ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT IF THE POLICE OFFICER WAS BLACK AND THE VICTIM WHITE THE SENTENCE HANDED DOWN WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. I GUESS THAT MIGHT SOUND LIKE A REVERSE RACIST STATEMENT BUT UNTIL YOU ARE BLACK AND GET PULLED OVER BY AN OFFICER WHO ISNT, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. PROFILING EXISTS AND HAPPENS EVERY DAY.PEOPLE MAKE CHOICES EVERYDAY AND THE OFFICER MADE THE CHOICE TO FIRE ON AN UNARMED INDIVIDUAL AND I SUPPOSE THAT HE HAD TO MAKE THAT CHOICE IN MILISECONDS I STILL AM OF THE OPINION THAT HE ACTED UNNECESSARILY.FAMILY OF OSCAR GRANT LIVE IN THE SAME CEN CAL VALLEY THAT I DO AND MY STATEMENT MIRRORS HIS FAMILIES. AND AS I SAID I AM SADDENED FOR THE FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY. AND AS FAR AS THE RIOTING, ANGER FUELS CHANGE AND WHILE I AGREE THAT RIOTING SERVES NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO INCITE HARM TO INNNOCENT PEOPLE, LET US NOT FORGET THAT OSCARS FAMILY IN FRESNO CALIFORNIA DEMONSTRATED PEACEFULLY THEIR OUTRAGE AT THE VERDICT!IS ANYONE COVERING THAT! THANKS BLOGHER FOR ALLOWING ME TO VOICE MY OPINION!

It's hard to read "unarmed" and "lying on the ground" and have this make any sense, but the officer claims that he thought he was holding his taser and not his gun.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.c... ). Her book is Navigating the Land of If ( http://thelandofif.blogspot.com/ ).

Absolutely true and a good reminder about rioting.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.c... ). Her book is Navigating the Land of If ( http://thelandofif.blogspot.com/ ).

I'm also not sure how involuntary comes into play on this particular verdict. I'm really just rather flabbergasted.

Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )), from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ), is a freelance writer and newspaper photographer.

And I meant to add that everyone can Monday morning quarterback, but please remain civil. Rioting and acting like wild animals will solve nothing.

As a former cop, I know decisions have to made in milliseconds and life and death are separated by those moments. Whether it was intentional or an accident, all I can say that is until you've been in that officer's place it's almost impossible to judge him.