I've been wondering about this, too: Why is the Ferguson grand jury taking so long?
CNN’s Steve Almasy explains that it’s a matter of the time the grand jury spends on the case and the fact that the prosecutor has given them all the evidence he has. Normally, a prosecutor will withhold as much ammunition as he can so as not to give the defense a heads up on what he has until he absolutely has to. But in this case, prosecutor Robert McCulloch wanted the grand jury to have everything.
Almasy explains that the grand jury usually only meets once a week, although in the Brown case, “the panel is allowed to meet on days when all 12 jurors can get together. Once agreed upon, the schedule is given to the prosecuting attorney’s office.” So, it’s more often than once a week but less than 5 days a week.
Can you imagine the pressure these people must be under? There are thugs all but promising riots if they don't indict the cop, and demands for "structural change" from the "more responsible crowd," and a national press corps egging them all on, and they're supposed to consider just the facts and reach an honest verdict.
I swear, this has not been the press's finest hour. Of course, I've thought that about a lot of stories lately.
I caught a bit of "Face the Nation" yesterday, and Bob Schieffer had an NAACP guy on, who wanted to make several points about social justice and institutional racism and such, but all Schieffer wanted to talk about was what might happen if there were no indictment. He was practically begging the guy to predict a riot, which to his credit he wouldn't do.
