CNN's Michael Smerconish wants you to know Tyre Nichols' killers have been overcharged

CNN Saturday pundit Michael Smerconish says the beating of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis cops was brutal. But he wants his audience to know the prosecutor should not have charged the cops with second-degree murder. In his words,

“Gut reaction (many won’t want to hear) having watched and before hearing anyone else’s opinion. It was hard to watch. Tragic. Sad. Unnecessary. Excessive? Yes!! But deserving of second-degree murder “knowing killing of another” – based only on what I have just seen? No.”

I am not a lawyer. Therefore, I cannot debate Smerconish on the merits of his claim. But as an American, I can say that his timing sucks. And that his dive into the weeds of the law has blinded him to the lede. The story is that yet another unarmed American (Black) man has been killed by American cops — for a traffic infraction. In this case, alleged reckless driving.

Adding another layer to the abomination, the Chief of the Memphis Police Department, Cerelyn Davis, indicated that she can find no probable cause for the traffic stop.

“I’m going to be honest with you about the stop itself. What was said was there was witnessing of what was considered reckless driving. We’ve looked at cameras. We’ve looked at body-worn cameras. Even if something occurred prior to this stop, we’ve been unable to substantiate it.”    

Did Smerconish factor that into his thinking? I do not know. But as Smerconish admitted, he was basing his analysis on a “gut reaction” and offered it before he talked to anyone. He knew his opinion was controversial (“many won’t want to hear”). So he should have been more careful offering it. He is a TV host on CNN, a cable channel that claims to be an unbiased source of news and analysis. But here, Smerconish sounds more like an ill-informed Fox News opinionator.

The criminal justice system will decide what the appropriate charge is. If the prosecutor, DA Steve Mulroy, sticks with second-degree murder and wins convictions, then the jury — the people given the responsibility of deciding — will have agreed with him. If they return a not-guilty verdict, then Smerconish will be proven correct.

But way before we get there, America will still be a country with out-of-control cops killing unarmed Black men. And that is the story Smerconish should cover. The questions he should explore are why a routine traffic stop led to a killing? And how can this happen in a civilized country? 

He does not need to represent the cops. The criminal justice system will protect their constitutional rights — rights they denied to Tyre Nichols. No one will turn a deaf ear to their protestations — as they did to their victim.

Nichols was so terrified he begged for his mother. None of his killers will ever feel that level of powerlessness. Even in prison, should they be convicted, they will not be in the general population constantly looking over their shoulder for a fellow con with a shiv.

I am sure the prospect of prison is giving the five cops the early AM terrors. Too bad. At least they can take comfort that the caprice and anger of a crazed mob of uniformed cops will not decide their fate — on a road. And those rogue officers can rest easy knowing that a TV talking head believes the most newsworthy facet of the death of Tyre Nichols is that the DA may have overcharged his killers with too severe a crime.