Why Marilyn Mosby May Not Be Able To Convict Police On Murder Charges

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby stepped up to the podium Friday at 10:30am. She stood in front of the city’s war memorial and announced what much of the crowd wanted to hear: her office had filed 20 separate charges (including murder and manslaughter) and issued arrest warrants for six Baltimore police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, hopefully bringing to an end the rioting and looting that had gripped Baltimore—and spread to other cities—over the last week.

Gray, who had been arrested after fleeing from police on April 12, suffered mysterious and eventually fatal spinal injuries while in the back of a police van that was transporting him to the station. He died a week after his arrest.

Rumors immediately swirled after Gray’s mysterious death.

Some speculated that he suffered the spinal injury as a result of a ‘rough ride,’ a punishing tactic where officers leave a defendant unbuckled and swerve the van to cause him to slam against the interior.

Others thought he was beaten by officers who stopped the van several times on the way to the station. Matters were complicated further when it was rumored that the medical examiner’s report concluded that Mr. Gray had caused his own injury while slamming himself against the inside of the van out of apparent frustration over being arrested—a fact that was supported by another prisoner in the van who later partially recanted that alleged statement.

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