For the first time since Darren Wilson‘s non-indictment, Ferguson DA Bob McCulloch speaks on the legal process that led to the nation’s uproar last month.
In a phone interview with local radio station KTRS, McCulloch claims that he let the witnesses testify before the grand jury although he was aware that they were not telling the truth.
When asked on why he allowed witnesses to testify when he knew they were lying, he responded:
Well, early on, I decided that anyone who claimed to have witnessed anything was going to be presented to the grand jury. And I knew that no matter how I handled it, there would be criticism of it. So if I didn’t put those witnesses on, then we’d be discussing now why I didn’t put those witnesses on. Even though their statements were not accurate.
So my determination was to put everybody on and let the grand jurors assess their credibility, which they did. This grand jury poured their hearts and souls into this. It was a very emotional few months for them. It took a lot of them. I wanted to put everything on there. I thought it was much more important to present everything and everybody, and some that, yes, clearly were not telling the truth. No question about it.
McCulloch has no doubt that some witnesses lied under oath but he has no interest in seeking perjury charges. The Ferguson DA also blames the media for “latching on” to a witness in which he said wasn’t present at the shooting.
McCulloch stated:
There were people who came in and, yes, absolutely lied under oath.Some lied to the FBI. Even though they’re not under oath, that’s another potential offense — a federal offense.
I thought it was much more important to present the entire picture…
There’s talk of one witness now, and some of the media is doing exactly what I said they would do, they pull out one witness and just latch on to that, and this lady clearly wasn’t present when this occurred. She recounted a statement that was right out of the newspaper about Wilson’s actions, and right down the line with Wilson’s actions. Even though I’m sure she was nowhere near the place.
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SOURCE: Gawker
