Editorial: Lawyer For Renisha McBride’s Murderer Claims Shooting Was “Justified”

Hampton said she hoped the gathering would pressure police to make an arrest. “We need transparency in this case,” she said.

While the Dearborn Heights Police Department submitted a warrant request to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, the office returned it with a request for further investigation Wednesday, saying the prosecutor “will not be able to make a charging decision until the requested work has been completed.” On Friday, a spokeswoman from the office confirmed that police are continuing to work on the requested items.

Carpenter believes the delay before making an arrest is reasonable. “Until criminal charges are issued, you can’t arrest anybody,” she said. She commended Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy for seeking more information and, in her opinion, “not rushing to judgment.”

“We believe that Kym Worthy will do the right thing,” McBride’s father, Walter Ray Simmons, told reporters after his daughter’s funeral Friday.

According to MLive, an attorney representing the victim’s family, Gerald Thurswell, said law enforcement officials should be given time to investigate.

“We don’t want to rush them,” Thurswell told MLive. “We believe the conclusion will be that he will be prosecuted.”

National figures such as the Rev. Al Sharpton have demanded justice for McBride’s family. U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) took the opportunity to condemn Michigan’s “stand your ground” law, which allows individuals to use deadly force without first retreating if they believe doing so is necessary to prevent imminent harm or death.

“There has been discussion about the impact of Michigan’s controversial stand your ground laws and whether they contributed to this incident. I have long opposed laws of this nature,” Conyers said in a statement. “I am confident that Wayne County prosecutors and law enforcement will conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that justice is served for Renisha’s family.”

Carpenter said she hoped the public would wait until further information has been released to make their own judgments.

“I would ask the public, including the media and the press, to not prejudge and not speculate on what is happening,” she said. “Everybody wants to put all the puzzle pieces together yet without having all the pieces, and it is not fair to anybody involved in this, including Ms. McBride, her family and the homeowner.”