Kentucky’s attorney general Daniel Cameron has agreed to release the recordings of the grand jury proceeding that led to no direct charges for the killing of Breonna Taylor.
Cameron's decision to release the recordings came hours after an unidentified juror filed a court motion to have the record of the proceedings opened to the public, criticizing the attorney general’s statements about the case and asking to share details so that “the truth may prevail," the Washington Post reports.
“There is a compelling public interest for these proceedings to be released of a magnitude the city and Commonwealth have never seen before that could not be confined, weaving its way across the country,” read the juror’s motion to release information, per the WP.
The motion additionally suggests that Cameron used jurors “as a shield to deflect accountability and responsibility.” It added that the juror fears the AG “would attempt to utilize the court’s contempt powers … if there was a public disclosure that contradicted certain things that he stated happened during the proceedings, characterized the singularity of the decision in a different light, or raised doubts about charges that were presented during the proceedings.”
Cameron previously refused to release grand jury transcripts, saying it would interfere with other investigations. He reiterated his position in a statement on Monday (September 28), saying, "we stand by our belief that such a release could compromise the ongoing federal investigation and could have unintended consequences such as poisoning the jury pool."
"The Grand Jury is meant to be a secretive body," he said. "It's apparent that the public interest in this case isn't going to allow that to happen [...] Despite these concerns, we will comply with the Judge's order to release the recording on Wednesday." Cameron added, “We have no concerns with grand jurors sharing their thoughts on our presentation because we are confident in the case we presented. Once the public listens to the recording, they will see that over the course of two-and-a-half days, our team presented a thorough and complete case to the Grand Jury.”
Last week, a grand jury announced that none of the three officers involved in Taylor's death would be charged for her death. Instead, former officer Brett Hankison was charged with recklessly endangering Taylor's neighbors. The grand jury's decision came more than six months after Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency room technician and aspiring nurse, was shot to death by Louisville police officers, who broke down the door to her apartment while executing a "no-knock" warrant on March 13.
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