ap | "Many St. Louis-area
residents believe - and there is at least some evidence to suggest -
that Mr. McCulloch manipulated the grand jury process from the beginning
to ensure that Officer Wilson would not be indicted," May wrote.
She said in an interview that McCulloch should have removed himself from the case at the outset.
"I
don't believe he followed proper procedures when he presented evidence
to the grand jury," May said. "To me, he was working for the defendant
in this case and not the victim."
Critics had
called for McCulloch to either step aside or for Nixon to appoint a
special prosecutor, citing concerns about whether McCulloch could fairly
oversee the case. McCulloch's father was a police officer killed in the
line of duty by a black assailant in the 1960s.
McCulloch
said immediately after the announcement that the jury of nine whites
and three blacks met on 25 separate days over three months, hearing more
than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses, including three
medical examiners and experts on blood, toxicology and firearms and
other issues. He said he assigned prosecutors in his office to present
evidence, rather than himself, because he was "fully aware of unfounded
but growing concern that the investigation might not be fair."
Ferguson
Mayor James Knowles III and others expressed anger that of the hundreds
of National Guard troops dispatched to the St. Louis region on Nov. 24,
none were in Ferguson as the announcement was made.
No
timetable has been set for the legislative committee's investigation,
and it wasn't clear if the committee would consider investigating
McCulloch. A message left with Schaefer was not immediately returned.
