Frank Jude, Jr. and Frustration

There were calls for peace in the city of Milwaukee late Friday night.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Jury finds 3 former officers not guilty

Late in their third day of deliberations, an all white jury found three former Milwaukee Police officers not guilty of beating Frank Jude Jr. at a 2004 Bay View house party.

Circuit Judge David A. Hansher read the verdict to a packed courtroom at 11:19 p.m., after the panel had been deliberating for more than 26 hours.

Andrew Spengler, Jon Bartlett and Daniel Masarik were all charged with substantial battery. Bartlett and Masarik also were charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety. If convicted, Bartlett and Masarik had faced up to 22 1/2 and 13 1/2 years in prison, respectively, and Spengler up to 3 years. The jury returned findings of not guilty for each man, but reported a deadlock on one count, Bartlett's battery charge.

An angry Mayor Tom Barrett reacted, "This has been a long and troubling night for our community. I am absolutely shocked and outraged by these verdicts. Mr. Jude was beaten badly and we need to hold accountable those who are responsible. This is not over."

Barrett and District Attorney E. Michael McCann both believe that the case should be looked at by a federal prosecutor.

Now, obviously Jude was severely beaten, and at this point no one is being held responsible for the crime.



This is an outrage.

My question:

Who does the mayor blame for the acquittals?

Barrett was clear about being shocked and outraged, that he wanted convictions; but he also was very vague.

He didn't really blame the jury for the verdicts.

It's not the jury's fault if McCann was unable to present evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the former officers were guilty of the crime.

Is the mayor upset with the cops and their "code of silence" that McCann was complaining about?

That could be it.

Whatever, Barrett is convinced that the three former officers are guilty. He believes that the judicial system didn't work in Jude's case, but he didn't really indicate exactly where he thinks the breakdown occurred or exactly what leads him to that conclusion.

Let's put aside Barrett's incoherent response to the verdicts.

Was justice done in the Jude case?

The jury found that there was not sufficient evidence to convict.

Did the jury get it wrong?

I don't know. I didn't sit through the trial.

But, since there is absolutely no question that Jude was brutally and mercilessly beaten, until someone is held accountable for the beating, it cannot be said that there is justice in the case.

Jude, his family, and supporters have reason to be frustrated, and so do all the other victims of crime who don't see justice done because witnesses are not willing to come forward.

Apparently, the "Stop Snitch'n" movement permeates many sectors of the city of Milwaukee. It appears to be part of the culture of the central city and the police force.

Unless good people are willing to stand up to bad guys and hold them accountable for being the sociopaths that they are, justice will not be the norm.

That's frustrating.

I think that those unwilling to cooperate to achieve justice are behaving immorally.


We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.

--Martin Luther King, Jr.