Some how this all seems to stink. Ronnie White was no angel. He was accused of killing a cop. But still, he died in jail and it looked, as if — at least to the medical examiner — that it was a homicide by strangulation. The state police thinks it looks more like a suicide. The state prosecutor says there’s not enough evidence to charge anyone and welcomes the Justice Department to investigate. First off, why couldn’t he have asked for help from the FBI and the Justice Department before reaching the conclusion that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge anyone? It just doesn’t look good.
By Ruben Castaneda, Aaron C. Davis and Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post Staff Writers
The chief prosecutor in Prince George’s County said yesterday that he does not now intend to charge anyone in the death last year of a 19-year-old inmate who had been accused of killing a police officer, meaning a slaying once denounced by the county executive as “vigilante justice” is all but certain to go unpunished in state court.
State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said that after nearly a year of investigation, he does not have enough evidence to secure an indictment in the death of Ronnie L. White. In an interview, Ivey said he welcomes calls by civil rights leaders for the Justice Department to take over the case, and a Justice spokesman said federal authorities would review the investigation.
Ivey’s willingness to essentially hand the case over to federal authorities without bringing charges met with swift criticism from civil rights groups and White’s family.
