Temporarily Not Guilty?

There WILL be a federal review of the Frank Jude, Jr. beating case.

U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic will investigate, but it will probably be a very long haul.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

[T]he community continues to voice outrage over Friday's verdicts that cleared former Milwaukee police officers Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler of [Frank] Jude's brutal attack, and as ministers and activists met to plan more protests, such as a march this morning and a fast later in the week.

Biskupic and James Finch, FBI special agent in charge of the Milwaukee field office, met with Milwaukee Police Chief Nannette Hegerty and District Attorney E. Michael McCann about the case. Biskupic said the federal review will take months because investigators need to evaluate court transcripts from the 13-day trial to see whether federal civil rights and obstruction of justice laws have been violated.

"The review of this matter will not be limited to certain individuals," he said in a statement. "We pledge to conduct this investigation as promptly and as thoroughly as possible."

I doubt that the three officers are still feeling as "elated" as they were on Friday, now that federal charges are a possibility.

Some jurors are speaking out.

Juror Vaso Sasic, 60, of Wauwatosa thought Jude may have suffered his injuries by fighting the officers and getting thrown to the ground. Sasic and a second juror, who only spoke on condition her name not be used, said the jury ran into too much doubt to convict.

"When you looked at conflicting testimony by all concerned, I don't think anyone thought it was conclusive to find someone guilty when the truth was not there," Sasic said. "Our job was not to make perfect a very imperfect investigation. We did our best. We can hold our heads high."

..."None of us were happy with the outcome, but there was just not enough proof," said the juror who didn't want to be named.

Ever since the verdicts were announced, I thought it was unfair to come down hard on the jurors.

They had to make a judgment based on the facts that were presented to them. Upon determining that the evidence was conflicting and inconclusive, it would have been wrong to convict without adequate proof of guilt.

That's why it bothered me when the mayor and others were so angry about the verdicts, as if the jurors screwed up.

I don't think the jurors should be faulted, and I certainly don't think it's fair to accuse them of being racist.

This "all white jury" stuff implies that the jurors' decision to not convict the officers of severely beating Jude was racially based. I think that criticism is unwarranted.

I'm sure Biskupic will investigate thoroughly. He knows how far-reaching the ramifications of his inquiry will be. I trust him. (By the way, is anyone troubled that Biskupic is an "all white" federal prosecutor?)

The bottom line:

Justice has been delayed in the Frank Jude, Jr. case; but hopefully, in the end, it will not be denied.