I understand that the police force needs to be 'protected' but in a case such as this where disproportionate force was used, exonerating the murderous cops sends a wrong message to the police and the citizens. The police will take it as a license to kill while the citizens may end up taking the law into their own hands---anyone remember Rodney King riots?

By siding with the cops once again, the courts have clearly demonstrated that they are a part of the establishment and that their allegiance lies with the state. I guess the notion that the State, courts and police exist for the protection of the citizens no longer holds true

Wish I could read the whole script. With this lil information there, I find the judge and prosecutor both worth damnation.

I meant the hearing  in the court..

The reasons the judge has given for the ruling are so very lame. Either he was myopic or the prosecutor was unable to put the case forward effectively enough. Want to know exactly what it was.

Yes, read all that! 

Isn't the prosecutor responsible for the defendants contradicting each other?

Does the severity of the sentence depend upon the crime or the motive?

Had they identified themselves and then killed the victims, would it have been less or more serious an act?

Rather unbelievable stuff!

Well, I'm not a lawyer but as I understand it: yes, the prosecutor is responsible for this, but once the defendants are on the stand, he or she can only object to the conduct of the defense lawyer. And even in that case the judge allows or disallows witness statements. The prosecutor does review what the defendants will say, but even here there are limitations as to what he or she can have them do. In any case, once they are up on the stand, then there is much less control.

Yes, the culpability of the police is greater when they use deadly force and do not identify themselves.

 
I have not seen transcripts but the New York Times covered the trial. You can find archives here:

http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=Sean+Bell&srchst=nyt

 
Let us know what you find.  I should mention that this or similar verdicts are not unusual in cases like this in the United States.

Oh finally did. Interesting indeed. Mr Brown, the prosecutor, was a judge himself earlier. Here are some of the views and excerpts:

Several witnesses, including some of Mr. Bell’s childhood friends, provided testimony that seemed to better serve the three detectives charged in his killing: Gescard F. Isnora, Marc Cooper and Michael Oliver.

“The case was flawed from the beginning and probably shouldn’t even have been brought to indictment,” said Marvyn M. Kornberg, a defense lawyer with a longstanding practice in Queens. “There was conflict in the testimony, not only internally with each witness, but externally, between the witnesses. Those are the kind of witnesses you put on the stand?”

One of Mr. Bell’s friends who witnessed the argument from several feet away, Hugh Jensen, testified that the exchange between Mr. Bell and Mr. Coicou was benign. But he said on cross-examination that he believed Mr. Coicou was armed. Another friend, Larenzo Kinred, told investigators that he believed the man was armed or pretending to be armed. And Mr. Coicou contradicted his own grand jury testimony while testifying, recanting a prior statement that he had heard one of Mr. Bell’s friends say he was going to get a gun.

“I think he presented the case he could present,” said Joseph G. Sulik, another Queens defense lawyer, who watched parts of the trial. “He has to put the people who were there on the stand — you have to take them, good or bad.”

...................

Makes it no case, I would say. MR BROWN failed the defendants. That is the only verdict the judge was going to give after his performance.

........

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/04/24/nyregion/20080424_BELL_GRAPHIC.html

Gives a lot of details and in a way further goes on to prove that it was a futile exercise.

Another fact being overlooked: Part of Sean Bell's group heads to their car, a Nissan Altima. As police converge, the Altima collides with an undercover officer and a police vehicle. Sean Bell is killed in gunfire by the police, who shot their weapons 50 times.

Hmmm. Tough and very unfair I'd say. I agree with that social element thing behind the verdict. Was interested in further exploring the case. I often do that. :)

Such things happen all over the world. Accountability should be swift and decisive. Here, the judiciary too has failed the common man. Regretfully painful.

I hope something better would come out of the suffering of the families. Some understanding of the need to reform hopefully.

Very nice blog indeed. Thank you. :) 

Look. I cut down the size of my posts and added links for the rest by popular demand. People complain when I post articles in their entirety. Please go to the link and read the whole thing before you comment.

In any case, you seem willing to trust the police version of events! No one there besides a cop heard the police identify themselves as such. How would you act if some unidentified guy pulled a gun on you in Queens? You'd hit the gas, too, I'll warent. I mean, one cop fired 31 bullets taking time to reload. And is this abnormal in New York? Not at all.

Ever heard of Amadou Diallo? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Diallo Know what a "stop-and-frisk" is? Shall we discuss Abner Louima? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima

There are huge social tenisons in NYC. The NYPD must regulate these with fear.

Ahmadi diallo was orderd to show his hands, this is very common practice, even on a traffic voilation stop it is better you keep your hand in place where officers can see them,

But he tried out to reach his pocket, officers were again right to think, he might have a gun.

That is why i said earlier, first do whatever police tell you do, if you feel like you was profiled wrongly, ask questions later. Is it very hard to act like this way? 

Ameen...I ditto what Khalifa just said... :)