Michael Brown’s Parents Take their Case to the U.N. Committee Against Torture

By Courtney Cox

Earlier this month, the parents of Michael Brown (a black eighteen-year-old shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August) traveled to Geneva to plea before the United Nations Committee Against Torture. The Washington Post reported that his parents believe the killing of their unarmed son and the subsequent “excessive use of force on peaceful protesters” violated the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Additionally, they urged the committee to recommend that the United States Department of Justice conduct a national investigation of the “systematic police brutality and harassment in black and brown communities.” Michael Brown’s parents are currently awaiting a grand jury decision concerning whether charges will be brought against the police officer who shot their son.