By Matt Ferner

The six Baltimore Police Department officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died from a critical injury he sustained while in police custody, will face criminal trials in Baltimore, a judge ruled Thursday.

Circuit Court Judge Barry Glenn Williams determined in a hearing that it was possible for the officers to receive fair trials in Baltimore. All six officers will now face individual trials for the charges brought against them by State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

However, the court will still need to decide if an impartial jury can be seated in Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun reported.

BREAKING:Motion to remove #FreddieGray trials from Baltimore at this stage is DENIED. Going to voir dire in city.

— Kevin Rector (@RectorSun) September 10, 2015

Gray, 25, suffered a severe spinal cord injury after being taken into custody by Baltimore police on April 12.  

The officers’ attorneys wanted the trials moved out of the city over concerns that their clients would not receive fair trials there, due to the amount of media coverage Gray’s death received and the impact it could have on jurors.

Since a jury is culled from a cross-section of the community where the trial takes place, the location of a trial can have an effect on its outcome.

“Rural and suburban juries are less likely to connect to the community conditions and more likely to excuse police as having a tough job and doing what is needed,” Dennis Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Huffington Post.

In general, Kenney added, most juries tend to side with the police unless they find the officers’ behavior unjustifiable. 

“This case could be one of those, depending on the facts,” he said.

A change of venue can increase the likelihood …read more

Source:: Weed Feed