ColorLines is reporting that a Los Angeles judge has denied a request for bail made by a white ex-transit cop convicted of killing an unarmed black man on an Oakland, Calif., train platform on New Years Day two years ago. Johannes Mehserle, the former officer, was charged with murder in the death of Oscar Grant but was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the least severe of all the charges against him. The conviction carries with it a two-year prison sentence that could easily be reduced to just seven months in jail because of time already served. The trial was moved to Los Angeles because of all of the media surrounding the case in Oakland. Upon his conviction, Mehserle immediately appealed the conviction and sought to be released on bail while the case was reviewed. Unless they want to see another set of riots, they might want to let Mehserle finish out his pitiful sentence in prison. You would think getting just two years for killing an unarmed man lying on a platform on his stomach would be enough to just finish up the sentence and go away quietly. But no — no respect for Grant and his family, then or now.
Read more at Colorlines.