NAACP Demands Justice for John McNeil
The National NAACP and members of the Georgia and North Carolina chapters are renewing their call for the governor and the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to free African-American businessman John McNeil.
Supporters for McNeil rallied in front of the state Capitol. They chanted, “Free John McNeil now.” Supporters say McNeil acted in self-defense when he shot building company owner Brian Epp in fall of 2005.
NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous says McNeil was wrongly arrested and convicted, and his case proves that self-defense laws in the U.S. are not equally applied across racial lines.
“It is hard to come to any conclusion other than that bias is a factor here and that the courts treated this case differently. We wish that there was some other explanation. Frankly all of us would all sleep better at night if there were.
Jealous says gaining McNeil’s freedom is urgent because his wife Anita has terminal cancer and may not have long to live.
“In this country we believe in our hearts that two wrongs don’t make a right. Well, if Ms. McNeil is allowed to die without being reunited with her husband, we will have three wrongs.”
The shooting occurred after McNeil rushed home and called 911 after his son called him and claimed that Brian Epp was refusing to leave their yard and had pulled a knife on him. Immediately after the shooting, several Cobb County detectives chose not to arrest McNeil because they believed he was defending himself. But McNeil was later charged and convicted for murder by Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head. Prosecutors claimed Epp had a knife in his pocket but was not holding it when shot.
In 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld McNeil’s conviction. McNeil has been in prison for nearly six years.
9(MDAxODM0MDY4MDEyMTY4NDA3MzI3YjkzMw004))
Top Stories
