Petition Demanding Federal Prosecution of Darren Wilson Gets Over 120,000 Names in 3 Days; White House Must Respond to it

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Friday, November 28, 2014

A man holds a sign with images of Eric Garner and Michael Brown as protesters begin to rally in New York, November 24, 2014, after the grand jury reached a decision in the death of 18-year-old Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The Missouri grand jury has made a decision on whether to indict white police officer Darren Wilson in the August fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Brown in Ferguson, a killing that sparked angry protests in the St. Louis suburb, prosecutors said on Monday. Garner died in July after being placed in a banned chokehold by a New York City police officer. | (Photo: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

An online petition on the White House's website calling for a federal prosecution of Officer Darren Wilson regarding the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown has garnered over 120,000 signatures in three days.

Posted on the "We the People" site on Tuesday, the petition has, as of Friday morning, over 123,000 signatories.

"Bring justice to Michael Brown and the hundreds of other black boys killed for the color of their skin by federally charging & fully prosecuting Darren Wilson," reads the petition in part.

"The grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson because of 'conflicting evidence', which is why a trial is necessary to guarantee the legitimacy of our justice system. Darren Wilson must held accountable for the murder that he committed."

On Aug. 9 in the small town of Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown six times reportedly after Brown attacked Wilson.

For the next few months, protests violent and nonviolent erupted in the town near St. Louis, with many calling for Wilson to be put on trial for murder.

The shooting incident brought national attention to Ferguson, with demonstrations in support of "Justice for Michael Brown" occurring across the United States.

A grand jury comprised of 12 individuals examined the evidence presented by the prosecution to see whether or not Wilson should be indicted.

On Monday, St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch announced that the grand jury would not indict Wilson.

"There is no question, of course, that Darren Wilson caused the death of Michael Brown by shooting him," stated McCulloch.

"The law authorizes a law enforcement officer to use deadly force in certain situations. The law also allows all people to use deadly force to defend themselves in certain situations."

McCulloch also told those at the press conference that both the state and federal governments had access to the same evidence, which was being released to the public.

"Additionally, the Department of Justice conducted its own examination of all the physical evidence and performed its own autopsy. Another autopsy was performed at the request of the Brown family, and all this information was also shared," stated McCulloch.

"Just as importantly, all testimony provided to the St. Louis County grand jury was immediately provided to the Department of Justice."

The "We The People" website calling for a federal prosecution of Wilson was posted on the site the day after the announcement.

To secure an official response from the Obama administration, the petition had to garner 100,000 signatories by Christmas Day. However, the petition passed the 123,000 mark in less than week.

While successful in getting the necessary number of names, there is no timetable for when the White House will respond to the petition's demand.

Indeed, many petitions on the site have gone several months without a response even if they received well over 100,000 signatures in the necessary window of time.