March protests acquittal, dropped charges in slaying
John A. Rooney Jr.
More than 100 people marched across the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge that links Petersburg and Colonial Heights, where the Braswells lived.
PETERSBURG -- A March for Justice rally drew more than 100 people yesterday amid criticism of an acquittal and dropped charges in the shooting death of a popular Petersburg businessman three years ago.
Slain businessman Robert L. Braswell Jr.'s family organized the afternoon march to the Petersburg Police Department in response to the June 1 acquittal of one of four defendants charged in his slaying and last week's decision by a special prosecutor to drop charges against two other defendants scheduled for trial this month.
Braswell's relatives say they are determined to see convictions in the case.
"Anger," said widow Rhonda Braswell, when asked her reaction to news of the dropped charges.
Marching across the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge that links Petersburg and Colonial Heights, where the Braswells lived, Braswell said she hopes to send a message that the case can't be swept aside.
"The rational person in me understands" that it will take time, she said. "The wife part of me who suffers every day doesn't because justice isn't being done."
While not expressly describing the court proceeding as racially biased, Braswell said only one white person sat on the jury, and she questioned the decision to turn over prosecution of the case to an outside prosecutor from another jurisdiction, who is white. Petersburg Commonwealth's Attorney Cassandra Burns is black.
Braswell also claimed that a total of four jurors fell asleep during the trial; she said she saw two doze off and that other relatives saw another two fall asleep.
Assistant Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney Nelson Fisher, who was appointed special prosecutor in the case, dropped charges against two other defendants last week, saying that the not-guilty verdict against key defendant and admitted crack-cocaine dealer Antoine D. Mylar, 29, of Hopewell pointed to difficulties in the case.
Fisher said last night that no trial date has been set for the fourth co-defendant, Shelly Grey, 49. Mylar's defense lawyer described her testimony in his case as not credible and inconsistent.
Fisher said the shift in prosecution to his office was prompted in part because Grey had once received help from Petersburg's victim-witness assistance program, which is operated by the commonwealth's attorney's office.
Fisher said a perception of a conflict of interest could have developed if Burns' office had tried the case.
Robert Braswell, 43, was shot to death in front of his business, Lowry Tire, on North Crater Road as he opened for business Nov. 9, 2006. The first arrests in the high-profile case came two years later.
Robert Braswell's youngest sister, Stacy Galle, and stepsister, Carrie Hubert, have said family members are considering asking for federal help in prosecuting the case as a hate crime if it stalls in Petersburg.
Rhonda Braswell, marching with her three daughters yesterday and an all-white following of supporters, said she is still stunned by the loss of her husband to such violence.
"The shop closed the day he died and never re-opened," she said. She continues to work as a bookkeeper but has had to sell the family home.
"It's been devastating for us," she said.
Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or
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Reader Reactions
datony..
Anyone who tries to draw any similarities between this case and the Taliaferro case knows little or nothing about either case. Taliaferro was the agressor and CHASING the person who eventually took his life. Mr. Braswell was opening his business for the morning when he was robbed for crack money. There was no reason for what happened to him. At least in the Taliaferro case, the defendants were found GUILTY of a crime. The point of contention there is the length of the sentence. The fact that the jurors had rendered verdict without hearing the evidence is a travesty. Karma you say? No, an obvious reason for a mistrial and and to investigate the Petersburg police chief and the Petersburg Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Please educate yourself before you post ignorance on a public board. By the way, a grammer course wouldn’t hurt you, either.
L.Johnson..i KNOW that u r laffin at obxgirl right now becuz i am lol lmao….u r right? who said that it was okay becuz they are black? ...and i am in accord with you…there were a LOT of people telling the talliaferro family to “get over’ the decision made by the jury….while there are differences, there are many similiarities between the two cases,primarly the lack of diversity in the jury pool…it is sad that this man has lost his life, but ...having not been in the jury during the trial, i would have to say that they made the right decision…just as many of you(obxgirl inclulded lol) think that the talliaferro decision was fair…..karma is a something else isnt’ it?
Hey folks, it’s P’Burg for god’s sake. Just go sit in a Circuit Court any day and you will see how many cases are resolved. Most of the time, the Police do not even testify and there is some sort of a plea agreement. Where else can you take a jury trial for murder by firearm, be found guilty of 2nd degree receive a minimal sentence and found not guilty of using the firearm to kill them. The judges can only rule on what they are presented with.
Obxgirl, who said it was ok because they are black?
Yeah, Marco, it is strange! If a person murders a guy for their money, then the state will prosecute. If a person was murdered because of their skin color, then the U.S. Government will pick it up and charge you with Violating Their Civil Rights! This is weird! The state can prosecute the murderer, find him guilty of any charge. The U.S. Govt. can still charge the murderer with the Civil Rights Violation…If it was a “hate crime”. This is REALLY PACKING on the YEARS!!
This acquittal is a joke, these thugs are getting away with murder, but because they are black, that’s ok? If the jurors were obviously sleeping through the trial, then they already had their mind made up to a non guilty verdict. It should be a mistrial and start with a new jury pool, one that is more diverse. And as far as Petersburg goes, it’s a wasteland, no one with any sense goes there to do anything. I hope the family gets the justice they deserve
I have never understood the “hate crime” fad. If somebody murders somebody, they are just as dead regardless of the reason.
It’s a hate crime and needs to be treated as such. I would not spend one dime in Petersburg, or anyone else I know. I think a good protest would be for no one to spend money or even visit petersburg. Too easy to get shot or killed there. Not a safe place.
says alot about why petersburg is the way it is.
Too bad since the jury has spoken- one third of them were asleep!! That is poor justice! There is no comparison to Powhatan- yes- both should be able to march if it helps. This man was a businessman who did not know the killers- no ongoing feud who knew each other. At least he should have had jurors who paid attention to what was going on- THAT ALWAYS HELPS!!!
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