Dear editor,

This letter is in response to the March 14 grand jury decision not to indict the Selma Police officers that were accused of excessive force.

District Attorney Michael Jackson had made the decision prior to the grand jury court date not to prosecute the police officers. Our family met with Mr. Jackson after he received the ABI report. Mr. Jackson stated that he didn’t want to prosecute five or six police officers, due to his working relationship with them; he has an officer’s wife that works in his office, and he has to call upon the officers to testify in court to help with convictions.

Therefore, he turned the case over to Attorney General Troy King’s office, which sent it back to Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson, you were elected to fight for victims, not the accused. You failed to do so in this case. The ABI did a thorough and detailed report on this case and made the suggestions that it should go before the grand jury. Mr. Jackson made the statement in Sunday’s newspaper that the grand jury decision not to indict was the end for criminal charges against the officers.

Mr. Jackson, don’t be so quick to make those types of comments. Our family will continue to seek justice against any person or persons that is involved with this case. There are higher courts than the circuit courts. You had the power to fight for an indictment, but you chose not to do so.

We hope you made Mayor Perkins and the police officers aware that two more votes would have gotten them an indictment. You are the prosecuting attorney, and you didn’t confer with the victims prior to the grand jury court date. The accused can always be brought back if deemed justifiable to do so.

We do know the job of the grand jury is not to decide whether a crime has been committed, but whether reasonable cause was found – with the majority voting to indict, reasonable cause was found!

Mr. Jackson and the assistant district attorney made the statement to a family member that you’ll come so close to a conviction, you’ll shouldn’t have a problem with a civil case. Take the money and leave it alone.

It’s not just about the Hollmans and the Gordon family, it’s about the people that don’t have a voice. Nor is it about the money!

The Hollman and Gordon Families