Oscar Grant’s uncle has rejected the apology of Johannes Mehserle, the man convicted of killing his unarmed nephew in cold blood.
“He can write the letter after he spends 14 years in prison.”
As previously reported, former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted Thursday July 8 of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day in 2009.
The shooting occurred after Grant was apprehended by Mehserle and colleagues for resisting arrests. According to reports and video surveillance, Grant was subdued when the ex-officer shot him in the back which subsequently led to his death which from the video looks like cold blooded murder.
Mehserle claimed he was reaching for his taser.
Mehserle wrote a letter last week apologizing for his actions, most likely in hopes of receiving a light sentence. His letter read:
“I don’t know what the jury in this case is going to decide, but I hope those who hate me and those who understand that I never intended to shoot Oscar Grant will listen to this message.
I have and will continue to live everyday of my life knowing that Mr. Grant should not have been shot. I know a daughter has lost a father and a mother has lost a son. It saddens me knowing that my actions cost Mr. Grant his life, no words express how truly sorry I am.
I hoped to talk to Ms. Johnson and Ms. Mesa in the days following this terrible event, but death threats toward my newly-born son, my friends and family resulted in no communication occurring. I hope the day will come when anger will give way to dialogue.
For now, and forever I will live, breathe, sleep, and not sleep with the memory of Mr. Grant screaming “You shot me” and putting my hands on the bullet wound thinking the pressure would help while I kept telling him “You’ll be okay!”
I tried to tell myself that maybe this shot would not be so serious, but I recall how sick I felt when Mr. Grant stopped talking, closed his eyes and seemed to stop breathing. I don’t expect that I can ever convince some individuals how sorry I am for the death of Mr. Grant, but I would not feel right if I didn’t explain my thoughts as I wait for a decision of the jury.”
Well Oscar’s family doesn’t give a damn about the letter and his uncle Cephus Johnson publically rejected the apology of the former transit police officer on Saturday calling it a “ploy.”
Johnson stated he and the Grant family didn’t believe the words in Mehserle’s handwritten note, claiming that it was nothing more than an attempt to gain sympathy from the judge before sentencing.
“He can write the letter after he spends 14 years in prison,” Johnson said.
Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, was also at the church Saturday, but declined to comment.
Mehserle’s lawyer, Michael Rains, also told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would seek a delay of several weeks in Mehserle’s August 6th sentencing so that he would have more time to prepare.
The case made more headlines last week when Mehserle was only convicted of involuntary manslaughter which he could only receive 4 years or less.
The family and the prosecution were seeking a first-degree murder conviction for the brutal crime which was recorded on video.
Federal prosecutors have also decided to step in to investigate the shooting death of Oscar.
Oscar Grant Murdered While Handcuffed
