Murder trial in Freddie Gray death set for Thursday

Goodson faces up to 30 years in prison.

Barry G. Williams has been a Circuit Court judge since 2005, following a career as an assistant city state’s attorney and a special litigation counsel with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, a role in which he traveled the country trying federal police misconduct cases.

A demonstrator waits for an announcement in the trial of Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero, one of six officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. He’s the third of six Baltimore officers to face a trial in the case of Gray’s arrest and death.

The 46-year-old Goodson waived his right to a jury trial on Monday. An autopsy concluded that Gray could not break his fall during an abrupt turn or stop while Goodson was driving the van. Additionally, Goodson was present at all six stops that the police van took, and during one stop, he reportedly checked on Gray on his own – a fact which the prosecution is likely to point out.

David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor familiar with the case, said if he chooses a jury trial, selecting the panel will be a crucial process.

“They put great emphasis on the belief that Goodson’s error was not taking Freddie Gray to the hospital after being told he said, ‘that he can’t breathe.’ That’s the basis”. Officer William Porter’s trial ended in a hung jury last December; he’s to be re-tried in September.

“If Goodson doesn’t work out for them in terms of a substantial conviction then it really undermines the vitality of the balance of their case against Miller, who’s in a similar situation as Nero, Sgt. White who everybody’s scratching their head as to why she was even charged”, Brown says.

“We’ve suffered so much already in the midst of this trial that we would hope that we would have had Baltimore City residents be part of a jury process, to have an opportunity to decide this officer’s guilt or innocence”, Witherspoon said Monday.

“Officer Porter will still be able to testify and will be required to testify that Freddie Gray indicated that he wanted to go to a hospital, and I expect he’s going to say that’s what he told Officer Goodson”, Colbert said.

A motion to eliminate hearsay, regarding statements Porter made to Internal Affairs Detective Syreeta Teel, was granted in favor of the defense.

Riots erupted in Baltimore previous year after Gray’s funeral.

Three other officers have yet to stand trial. He reportedly pushed Gray inside the van without first securing him with a seatbelt. Prosecutors say that Goodson was so negligent in his failure to buckle Gray into a seat belt that he disregarded the apparent risk to Gray’s life and wellbeing.

Porter, who faces retrial this summer, is expected to be a key witness against Goodson.