DuBose’s mother: ‘Why is there even a trial?’
Raw emotion related to the upcoming murder trial of a former University of Cincinnati police officer came out Wednesday night during an educational forum in a Roselawn church.
Raymond Tensing goes on trial Oct. 25 on two charges, murder and voluntary manslaughter, for the shooting death of Sam DuBose.
Tensing pulled DuBose over for a missing front license plate on July 19, 2015, during a traffic stop in Mount Auburn, not far from the UC campus.
The Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati sponsored the forum at New Prospect Baptist Church. More than 100 people, almost all of them African-Americans, attended the event, along with some community leaders and politicians.
During a presentation by a legal expert, DuBose’s mother, Audrey DuBose, asked: “Why is there even a trial? This was a cold-blooded murder.” She said Tensing’s body-camera video should be enough to convict him.
Members of the panel expressed sympathy to her and tried to explain the legal process that will unfold during the trial.
Even as the legal experts presented information in the most neutral manner possible, questions from African-American audience members revealed the community’s anger and frustration generated by the Tensing case and the contemporary state of police-community relations.
Audience member questions sought information on jury selection, questionnaires that will be presented to prospective jurors, possible sentences Tensing faces if convicted, which of the two charges is most likely to stick and if the shooting will be re-enacted for the jury once it is seated.
“We thought we should educate,” Donyetta Bailey, president of the black lawyers group, said in her opening remarks. “We do not want you to watch the trial in a vacuum. Our hope is you will observe the trial.
“We’re also encouraging you to vote. If you don’t like the decisions judges make, I encourage you to go to the courthouse to see what the process is like. If you don’t like what you see, vote on Election Day.”
The panel consisted of three attorneys: Cincinnati Councilwoman Yvette Simpson, retired Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Nadine Allen and Rodney Harris, director of the Felony Division of the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office.
“It is important that the community learn from respected lawyers and judges what to expect at each stage of the trial, so there is no confusion and no surprises,” Simpson said. “We can’t advocate what we don’t understand. Knowledge is power.”
If convicted of murder, Tensing would face a sentence of 15 years to life. A voluntary manslaughter conviction carries a sentence of 3-11 years.
After the forum, which lasted more than two hours, DuBose spoke to reporters.
“We’re angry and we’re ready to get the ball rolling,” she said when asked for the family’s mood with less than two weeks remaining until the trial.
DuBose noted the audience members’ support for her family, but saw that many understandably had self-interest in mind.
“My son is gone,” she said. “This might happen to someone else’s child at any time.”
University of Cincinnati officials fired Tensing almost immediately after the shooting.
Greg Baker, director of community police relations at UC, attended the event Wednesday night and spoke of reforms inside the university’s Department of Public Safety. He said the university is planning a similar question-and-answer forum next week on campus.
“People are very frustrated with the criminal justice system,” Baker said afterward. “The criminal justice system is going to go on trial with Mr. Tensing.”
OTHER TOP STORIES