Jesse Williams Just Nailed the Hypocrisy of the Freddie Gray Case
After a more-than-year-long effort to hold any of the six Baltimore officers involved in Freddie Gray's death responsible for what the medical examiner ruled a homicide, the state of Maryland dropped all charges against the officers on Wednesday.
In response, Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams used Twitter to speak on the lack of accountability for the state in Gray's death.
"The state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual, crime" is from 19th century German philosopher Max Stirner.
Williams' tweet shows how the police officers — representing "the state" — were not held accountable for Gray's death in the name of "law and order." Therefore, the state's violence — what the medical examiner ruled a homicide — is justifiable under law. Even though, by definition, homicide is a deliberate and unlawful killing of another person. But, apparently, no one killed Freddie Gray.
Williams also called out this "law and order" mentality in subsequent tweets.
Williams has been a vocal advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement. He delivered a rousing speech about the nature of being black in America at the 2016 BET Awards and has used his Twitter presence to talk about police brutality — most recently, in the case of Alton Sterling. He's also been very vocal about the nation's history of police brutality and environmental racism.
Williams is not alone in his frustration with Gray's death. In a press conference on Wednesday, state's attorney Marilyn Mosby said, "We do not believe Freddie Gray killed himself."
Her office dropped all charges against three of the remaining six officers involved in Gray's April 2015 arrest and death on Wednesday. Mosby alleged that Baltimore officers hindered her office's investigation in the 25-year-old's death.
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