Jury Selection Finalized In Former Officer's Murder Trial

Jury Selection Finalized In Former Officer's Murder Trial
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Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.

By: Denise Tejada & Nick Bellizzi

Tomorrow in Los Angeles, the testimony begins in the murder trial of former transit cop Johannes Mehserle.

Twenty-two year old Oscar Grant was unarmed when he was allegedly shot and killed by Mehserle on New Year’s Day 2009. The shooting took place at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in East Oakland, California. Mehserle has pleaded not guilty in Grant’s murder.

The jury in Mehserle’s trial consists of eight women and four men--seven are white, four are Hispanic, and one is Indian. No African Americans were selected as jurors. Mehserle is white and Grant was a black man. Young people in the San Francisco Bay Area were surprised to hear about the racial makeup of the jury for a case in which race became a significant issue for the community in the aftermath of the shooting.

Click below to listen to Young people's reaction:
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