jailhouse stay where during the weekend of July 10-12 a routine traffic stop and scuffle with a police officer landing her in a Texas prison over the weekend where by Monday, July 13; somewhere around the 9 a.m. hour she was fond hanged. Obviously her family and loved ones have lots of questions and feel that beyond reasonable doubt, Bland would not have taken her own life.
Since her funeral, CNN and New York Times reported stories with this bit of information included:
“This investigation is still being treated just as it would be a murder investigation,” the Waller County district attorney, Elton Mathis, said. He said the case is likely to be turned over to a grand jury expected to be impaneled in August. –New York Times
“The Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating her death. It is very much too early to make any kind of determination that this was a suicide or a murder because the investigations are not complete,” Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis told reporters. “This is being treated like a murder investigation.” He said the case would go to a grand jury. “There are too many questions that still need to be resolved. Ms. Bland’s family does make valid points that she did have a lot of things going on in her life that were good,” Mathis said. –CNN
Although that news is better than no news, (and despite Mathis’ empathetic statement: “There are too many questions that still need to be resolved. Ms. Bland’s family does make valid points that she did have a lot of things going on in her life that were good,” do know that “this is being treated like a murder investigation” and is still a kind of ‘pacifier.’ As, “being treated like a murder investigation” ’s semantics is far from:
- “this is being ruled a homicide and being investigated as such”
As:
“this case is still being treated just as it would be a murder investigation” (what DA Mathis said) is NOT the same as:
- “this case is being treated as a murder investigation”
When you hear that (either in the two bullet points), it’s on.
Right now, have a binky as, since the July 20 statement as reported by the New York Times [where district attorney Elton Mathis said] ‘the case is likely to be turned over to a grand jury expected to be impaneled in August,’ we’re rolling up on end-August, with 8 more days [and no word on the jury that this case is/was “likely” to be turned over to] yet.
Hmm.
At any rate. From (under the guise?) of empathy, understand the semantics being played here before circulating “Sandra Bland’s death is being investigated as a murder” memes around social media people.
No.
“Being treated just as it would be a murder investigation”
and:
“Being investigated for murder”<—-
…are two entirely different animals.
