Brett Hankison Guilty Verdict Not Understandable
Hankison Justice, Post 1 - First in a series - We heard the word ‘guilty’ but it was unintelligible
Tamika Palmer and the many social justice advocates believe they ‘got justice,’ at least partially, when Brett was found guilty of violating Breonna’s civil rights. Got milk? Got justice? But justice is not a commodity, is it?
The DOJ stated:
“Today, Brett Hankison was found guilty by a jury of his peers for willfully depriving Breonna Taylor of her constitutional rights. His use of deadly force was unlawful and put Ms. Taylor in harm’s way. This verdict is an important step toward accountability for the violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, but justice for the loss of Ms. Taylor’s life remains elusive.”
Elusive? Can’t be got?
“Today, Brett Hankison was found guilty by a jury of his peers for willfully depriving Breonna Taylor of her constitutional rights,” Garland said. “His use of deadly force was unlawful and put Ms. Taylor in harm’s way. This verdict is an important step toward accountability for the violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, but justice for the loss of Ms. Taylor is a task that exceeds human capacity.”
Exceeds human capacity? Attorneys have no ability to argue for what is just? Judges are incapable of administering justice? Or, “speaking for myself,” ? Sure, God alone is the final arbiter of all matters, but meanwhile, we here must do our best to understand what is just.
And now, the local media tells us that Louisville has become the U.S. hub for social justice.
At about 7 PM on Friday, November first, local media stood outside the Gene Snyder Courthouse, waiting for the verdict. They would wait for statements for nearly three more hours.
Around 6:15 PM, Judge Jennings reported that the jury, after nine hours, continued to disagree on one count. She offered options. Lead defense attorney Jack Byrd requested that Judge Jennings 1) accept the verdict for the count the jurors had unison on, and 2) declare a mistrial on the other count.
The jury was called in to state their verdict which was for Count Two, ‘Not Guilty’ of violating Breonna’s neighbors’ civil rights. Elation for us! They returned to their room.
There was some discussion among the attorneys and Judge on how tired the jurors were.
The Judge sided with the prosecutor who wanted the jury to try again to reach a unanimous verdict on the remaining count. Attorney Byrd requested that wording on the jury instructions say that, if they were ‘hopelessly deadlocked’ —as they had already said— their verdict could be stated as such; however that language was not included. The jury was called in to receive new instructions and the Allen charge was read to them for the second time that day.
When the Count One ‘Guilty’ verdict was announced at about 9:30 PM, some jurors were crying. They weren’t the only ones.
Thankfully, Judge Jennings did not require Brett to go straight to prison, though U.S. Marshalls were in the courtroom, and the prosecutor requested that protocol.
Brett’s sentencing is set for March 12, 2025, the anniversary of the LMPD search team’s arrival (just before midnight) at Breonna’s apartment complex. Timing is… hmmm. An Appeal will be filed following sentencing.
In this blog series we want to evaluate whether the second federal trial served justice, or vengeance, or what? What can we learn from the Retrial proceedings? I attended each day, wrote notes, and will obtain transcripts soon.
Brett and his ‘drug dog’ Franklin
The jury learned that Brett had served from 800-1000 search warrants over his 17 years of employment with the LMPD, never once shooting his weapon.
Asked how he became a K-9 handler, he explained that early in his career he noticed that many crimes were committed because of drug use by Louisvillians. He wanted to do something to help. When his daughter was about 12, he asked her if she might like for them to become Humane Society foster caregivers for rescued dogs. She liked the idea (and perhaps it started her on a track to becoming an ARNP which she is close to achieving). They fostered 60 dogs and Brett became the handler for Franklin, a great canine. (Deceased 2024, a very sad story)
Thank you
Brett testified for many hours, and he wants his supporters to know that it strengthened him greatly to look out and see people who cared about him. On a portion of one day, the Defense side had more people that the BLM side! Thank you to all who attended the retrial.