Much ought to be forgiven Michael Brown’s family, who, besides being in grief for their son, are the involuntarily targets of the myriad influence-peddlers exploiting events in Ferguson. That said, the Brown family is doing no one any favors with this latest ploy. Via CNN:

The parents of Michael Brown, a Missouri teen killed by police, testified before a U.N. committee Tuesday because they want the world to know “what’s going on in Ferguson.”
Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. spoke to the United Nations Committee Against Torture — which also works against cruel or degrading treatment or punishment by government authorities. . . .
While their testimony to the committee took place behind closed doors, the delegation that organized their trip said the couple would read from a statement submitted by the Brown family and organizations called HandsUpUnited, the Organization for Black Struggle, and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment.
The document says Brown’s killing and force used by police officers during protests that followed the killing “represent violations of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.”

That document is available here.

It is a sad indication of how badly “justice” has been distorted in this case that the Brown family would turn away from the American judicial system — which, for its many flaws, is as fair as any there has ever been — to appeal to the organization that thought Iran and Sudan were suited to the task of judging human-rights violations.

With due respect to the Brown family, they are not interested in a process, but an outcome. But deciding the verdict before the trial is not “justice”; it is the way of the kangaroo court.