VIDEO: Grand Jury Could Need Weeks to Hear Evidence in Ferguson OIS
Members of the current St. Louis County grand jury took on a new assignment Wednesday: the Michael Brown shooting case. The twelve member grand jury heard the first evidence to be presented in the investigation.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said his staff would continue to present evidence in an organized pattern to the grand jurors as quickly as it can be assembled by topic, but not in a piecemeal fashion. He would not say whether the Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson who shot Brown August 9 will testify, but indicated he is welcome to appear before the grand jury.
McCulloch expects more than two dozen witnesses will appear. “We wanted to get the process going so we can do this as thoroughly as possible, but as expeditiously as possible too without rushing anything,” he said Wednesday.
There are three grand jury sessions a year in St. Louis County, each one lasting four to five months, KPLK TV reports.
Once this jury’s regular session expires, McCulloch will ask that the same jurors continue just working on the Mike Brown case. The prosecutor says two long time assistants will present the evidence to the grand jury and then the members will decide whether the evidence warrants any criminal charges against Wilson. Those charges could range from assault all the way to murder first degree. Both of the assistants are women and one is African-American.
