Howard Morgan's Fight Should Be Everyones Fight!

Many, but not enough, have heard of the travesty of justice that is represented by the Howard Morgan shooting. First a few facts:

• Howard Morgan is a former Chicago Police Officer, and following that career, spent 13 years as a Railroad Police Officer.
• On February 21, 2005, Mr. Morgan was forced from his vehicle and shot by police officers 28 times, 21 of those shots were into his back . . . miraculously he survived.
• As unbelievable as it may seem, he was charged with four counts of attempted murder, along with other firearm charges (he was a police officer and was carrying a weapon legally).
• In 2007, he was acquitted of 3 charges and the jury was hung on the remaining counts; the judge declared a mistrial.
• With evidence and a witness in his favor, and the appearance of double jeopardy, he was tried on the remaining charges this year and is currently awaiting sentencing:
• The state could only produce 3 of 25 bullets removed from his body - the other bullets could have proven he was shot with his own gun
• He was never tested for gun residue to confirm he fired his weapon
• The state never produced the bullet proof vest the office claimed had been shot into

If Howard Morgan had died of his many gunshot wounds this would have been just one more case that got sweep away from the public's vision. The fact that he lived to tell the story should serve as a wake-up call to us all. We should demand justice for Brother Morgan, as well as for ourselves. We should demand Howard Morgan's release, while also demanding our police live up the slogan of "To Serve and Protect." It's time for our police to work with our communities to remove the few bad apples that give them all a bad reputation and that generates the haze of distrust that reduces citizen/police cooperation to near zero.

It is in the interest of us all to bring true justice to bear on this case. To cure the larger issue is certainly going to take time and resources. To begin, however, please click here to go the the Free Howard Morgan website and sign his petition demanding justice.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King

Daryle Brown
Trinity UCC Justice Watch Team