On April 12th, 2015, Freddie Gray was arrested by police in Baltimore for allegedly carrying, what police called, an "illegal switchblade." While in police custody, Freddie Gray fell into a coma and was transported to a trauma facility and eventually died on April 19th, 2015. In the days following his death, six police officers were suspended after an investigation of the incident. Protests, which later transformed into riots, invaded the streets of Baltimore.

The first of the six officers to stand trail is Officer William Porter. Porter was being charged with involuntary manslaughter among other things. After deliberating, the jury in his case declared a hung jury. Immediately following the decision protests began outside of the Baltimore courthouse.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore quickly tweeted a statement on the decision in hopes to avoid a repeat of the violent riots that occurred in April.

The family of Freddie Gray spoke out following the decision. Gray's Stepfather, Richard Shipley said, "We ask the public to remain calm, patient, because we are confident there will be another trial with a different jury".

Understandably, people are nervous that riots will occur again however, the people of Baltimore did stay calm on the night following the decision. Protestors once again took to the streets. Some groups repeated the Serenity Prayer while others repeated chants such as "All night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray."

The most important question here is how does the decision affect the future of this case and the cases of the remaining five police officers?

In a criminal case such as this one, in order to find the defendant guilty there must be no reasonable doubt. Since the first jury could not come to a decision it is safe to assume they saw some sort of doubt in the case. This will undoubtably affect the future juries in the remaining cases.

According to CNN, the prosecution planned on using Porter in future cases against his fellow officers. In return for his testimony in their cases he would be granted immunity. Testimony from Porter was going to make the cases against the remaining officers much easier on the prosecution but now they are in trouble.

Police brutality, against African Americans especially, is an issue that is extremely prevalent today. There have been many instances of police brutality but the case of Freddie Gray has drawn national attention. The people of Baltimore were not only protesting in order to seek justice for Freddie Gray but also to bring attention to an issue that must be addressed.

The verdicts in the case of Freddie Gray will determine if the U.S. will progress toward peace or digress further into its too-familiar, oppressive ways.