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Lesley McSpadden, the mother of slain teenager Michael Brown.
Lesley McSpadden, the mother of slain teenager Michael Brown.
"The Brown family wanted to have this autopsy performed on their behalf because they did not know whether the federal officials were going to conduct their own independent autopsy, and they did not want to be left having to rely on the autopsy done by the St. Louis law enforcement agencies ‒ the same individuals they feel are responsible for executing their son in broad daylight," Benjamin Crump, the lead counsel for the Brown family, said. "So therefore, that is why they begged and pleaded to have an independent autopsy done."
The Brown family hired renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael M. Baden to conduct a second postmortem analysis on their son. The preliminary report, released to the New York Times Sunday night, shows that the unarmed teenager was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, while four shots hit his right arm. Any shots that missed the deceased would not have been able to be counted during the examination.
The number of shots fired "could have been answered on day one [by the Ferguson Police Department] if you really wanted to have transparency as the objective," Crump said, referring to Baden's initial conclusions.
Comment: Whatever happened to good, old communication? You know, teachers talking to parents, knowing what their pupils are up to and how they are doing, giving extra support when needed. Not treating parents and children as if they are petty thieves, while ignoring their suffering.