After Ferguson, judicial system questioned: Your Say

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

USA TODAY's editorial "Ferguson decision deserves deference: Our view" asks readers to assume "the prosecutors and grand jurors did their jobs properly and in good faith." And herein is the problem. With a closed process like this grand jury, there remains too much doubt. The decision may be correct, but there is no way to know without transparency.

— Harold Juergens

The facts have spoken. Clearly the grand jury heard and saw facts that made them decide not to indict officer Darren Wilson. People are making Michael Brown out to be some kind of angel.

— Frank Venditti

If you've ever served on a grand jury, you know that there is really no way to ignore or discount the facts presented. While this result could be perceived as racist, it's a tragic reveal of what's clearly a racially charged environment in Ferguson. The lack of an indictment isn't what people are protesting.

It's the toxic culture that led the community to this point in the first place that's being protested.

— Michael Anthony Shea

How and why were the eyewitnesses who said that Brown had his hands up to surrender discounted?

And at the same time, why was the testimony by those who said Brown charged the officer taken to be true? This grand jury process seems strange.

The decision essentially says that those who openly gave testimony on TV at or near the scene were lying.

— Ned Sinclair

Letters to the editor:

I do not agree with the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case. Brown was shot several times by officer Darren Wilson. Had the officer winged Brown, that may have been slightly easier to understand. But he shot several times at the suspect's midsection. This was excessive and totally unnecessary.

Many rioters are concerned less with justice than with looting. This, too, is tragic. But it only goes to show how incompetent our systems of law enforcement and police power really are. Our whole concept of criminal justice is badly in need of reform.

May I offer my condolences to the parents of Brown.

John L. Indo; Houston

Sadly, Ferguson, Mo., has been violated three times.

First by the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. Second, by Darren Wilson failing to be indicted for Brown's death.

Third, by the violent riots that burned down many businesses in the area. No community should have to suffer this much.

Kenneth L. Zimmerman; Huntington Beach, Calif.

As an African American, I am first and foremost appalled that a police officer who took an oath to protect his community can take the life of an unarmed man because he was afraid.

If you are a police officer who fears someone who is bigger than you, you should find another occupation.

I am also dismayed that when things like this happen people use the atmosphere to loot, damage property and demolish neighborhoods that were in serious need of upgrading from the outset.

Alonzo Howard; Columbus, Ohio