Addressing distrust and disparities in the criminal justice system

Memorials were left Saturday morning at J.J. Hill Elementary.
Memorials were left Saturday morning, June 17, 2017, at J.J. Hill Elementary School in St. Paul, where Philando Castile was a cafeteria supervisor.
Peter Cox | MPR News

It's been one year since Philando Castile was fatally shot by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez.

Castile, a black motorist, was pulled over on Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights.

Yanez thought Castile fit the description of someone who had robbed a nearby convenience store earlier that week, and pulled him over for a broken brake light.

Seventy-four seconds after Yanez turned on the lights of his squad car, he fired a seventh and final shot into Castile's car.

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The world watched the immediate aftermath of the shooting unfold on Facebook live. Diamond Reynolds, Castile's girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car along with her 4-year-old daughter, started streaming the scene after the final shot.

In the months since, Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. The jury in the Yanez trial said they were at an impasse, before eventually deciding to clear Yanez of all charges. The dashcam footage from that night was released along with scores of other evidence.

Today on MPR News with Kerri Miller, a conversation about how Americans of color see and experience the criminal justice system. Miller spoke with:

Kami Chavis, former prosecutor and law professor and director of the criminal justice program at Wake Forest School of Law.

David Thomas, a retired police officer, licensed mental health counselor and associate professor of Forensics at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Use the audio player above to hear the full discussion.