MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Do you have a right to know?
The battle for transparency within the TBI is one that has waged on for years and one that gained a lot of traction after another officer-involved shooting in Memphis, this one from 2012.
15-year-old Justin Thompson was shot and killed by former MPD officer Terrance Shaw.
Lifelong Memphian Ferlin Scott said when it comes to TBI reports, the investigation into Darrius Stewart’s death is not the only one that should be public record.
“Everybody has a right to understand what’s really going on,” Scott said.
It is an opinion attorney Mark Renken shares. He represented Shirley Thompson, Justin’s mother.
“The family’s interest is certainly important, because they’re going to want to know,” Renken told WREG. “But it’s also important for the community so they have a deeper understanding of what happened and why.”
She wanted answers from the TBI, too, but has since passed away, dying without ever knowing what really happened to her son.
“There were more questions than answers,” Renken said of the case.
Renken said there is no reason to keep files sealed, and the TBI has never given a real reason for the secrecy.
“If it’s kept secret, then you do wonder, and when that happens people think all manner of bad things that may not be the case,” he said.
But some, like Memphian Jamaal Campbell, think in cases like Stewart’s death, most have already made up their minds regardless.
“People are still going to feel the way they’re going to feel.”
Even after it was announced that the TBI report could be released, District Attorney General Amy Weirich waited for a grand jury decision on charges and a ruling from a judge before making it public.