To fully appreciate the ins and outs of this case, you really need to watch all three episodes of the documentary. To say it is complex is an understatement. The basic story is that three relatively privileged white guys in their 30s, on their way home from a night out, stop in traffic as the road is blocked by a stationary car. One of the guys, Sean, goes to remonstrate with the driver of the other car. A 20 year old black guy, delivering Uber eats on his bicycle happens to be passing, and stops to intervene in the confrontation. He shouts at Sean to stop being a bully, or something similar. This is where things get a bit hazy. Michael White, the cyclist says that Sean said he was going to beat the black off him. However, none of the many witnesses could corroborate this. Allegedly feeling threatened as Sean approached him, White pulls a knife from his backpack, the two get into a tussle, and Sean ends up getting stabbed in the back.
As I stated previously, to fully understand all the various allegations, stories, and versions of events, watch the documentary. It is clear that the DA's office made some extremely questionable decisions in the lead up to the trial, with an apparently political agenda. And inevitably the media played their part in peoples opinions, and it became a fairly high profile case. Personally, I believe justice was not done, the legal system heavily interfered, and had charges reduced from murder 1, then to 3 then manslaughter, against the recommendation of the assistant DA, who was the lead in the case. The fact remains, that by his own admission, Michael White stopped and inserted him self in an argument that had nothing to do with him, confronted Sean, and in the ensuing confrontation, pulled out a knife and a man ended up dead. Regardless of all the surrounding did he, didn't he toing and froing, Michael White made several decisions that night, which led to Sean's death.
Obviously there are many backstories and conflicting reports, and everyone should come to their own conclusion, and I am sure many will disagree with mine after watching the shows. It is almost impossible to understand all the facts unless you live in Philadelphia and are aware of the inherent racial tensions and class divide. But going on the bare facts alone, there should be a lot of questions asked of the DA Larry Krasner.
As I stated previously, to fully understand all the various allegations, stories, and versions of events, watch the documentary. It is clear that the DA's office made some extremely questionable decisions in the lead up to the trial, with an apparently political agenda. And inevitably the media played their part in peoples opinions, and it became a fairly high profile case. Personally, I believe justice was not done, the legal system heavily interfered, and had charges reduced from murder 1, then to 3 then manslaughter, against the recommendation of the assistant DA, who was the lead in the case. The fact remains, that by his own admission, Michael White stopped and inserted him self in an argument that had nothing to do with him, confronted Sean, and in the ensuing confrontation, pulled out a knife and a man ended up dead. Regardless of all the surrounding did he, didn't he toing and froing, Michael White made several decisions that night, which led to Sean's death.
Obviously there are many backstories and conflicting reports, and everyone should come to their own conclusion, and I am sure many will disagree with mine after watching the shows. It is almost impossible to understand all the facts unless you live in Philadelphia and are aware of the inherent racial tensions and class divide. But going on the bare facts alone, there should be a lot of questions asked of the DA Larry Krasner.