Judge William H. Leary III, who presided over the trial of the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile, made a rare move by writing a letter of support to the jurors involved in the case. He says he is supportive despite the widespread public criticism on the basis that there was "a failure to understand what you were asked to do" by both the public and media outlets.

The letter, which was obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, is supposedly a gesture of comfort from the judge to the jurors. While Judge Leary wrote that he is not giving his opinion on the actions of Officer Jeranimo Yanez, he believes their verdict was "fully supported by a fair interpretation of the evidence and law you were obligated to apply."

The jury which was mostly white (shocker), consisted of five women and seven men with two of those persons being people of color. The jury was initially deadlocked at 10-2 (even more shocking), with two holdouts against acquittal until the fifth day of deliberation. Yanez was eventually acquitted on June 16 of second-degree murder and two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm despite dash cam and livestream footage.

Judge Leary's letter was written June 23 and filled with the courts on June 28.

He writes:

"The criticism of the jury’s decision of which I am aware has focused primarily on a reaction to the squad-cam video and on consideration of issues you as jurors were never asked to address. You were simply asked to determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, whether a crime had been committed."

He continues, "You were never asked to decide whether racism continues to exist, whether certain members of our community are disproportionately affected by police tactics, or whether police training is ineffective."

Of course, this shooting raised major questions about racism and the police, although that's nothing new. However, even with Philando's death being on Facebook live, it was still ruled that Officer Yanez handled the situation correctly which is beyond me. The jury should have known that their decision to acquit would come with widespread outrage and resentment. It lead to protest and outcries for justice, but according to Judge Leary, that's exactly what was given.

Leary concluded his letter with a quote from Malcolm X (I can't make this up):

"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”