Gray family lawyer: ‘War on drugs’ unfair to blacks

The lawyer for Freddie Gray’s family on Sunday said that U.S. narcotics laws have disproportionately hurt the black community.

“The war on drugs has been a war on black people suspected of drugs,” Billy Murphy, Jr. told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.”

{mosads}“That has to be addressed,” he said.

“We have to end this terrible war on drugs that has never been successful,” Murphy added. “We have to end this incarceration of black fathers that has destroyed so many families.”

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Friday charged six police officers for Gray’s death while in their custody.

On Sunday, Murphy argued that the case should remain in Baltimore despite concerns it might not receive fair judgment there.

“The police officers were both black and white, so there’s no reason to move it outside of Baltimore,” he said.

“I have confidence in our judiciary system,” Murphy said. “We haven’t asked for any particular verdict.”

The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police on Friday dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

Murphy countered on Sunday that the only issue in Gray’s death was one of right and wrong.

“Sour grapes have prevailed,” he quipped of the police union’s response. “We just want justice.”

Gray died on April 19 following a fatal spinal injury suffered while in police custody. Originally arrested on April 12, his death has since been ruled a homicide.

Baltimore police on Tuesday arrested 235 people for their role in riots launched on Monday night over Gray’s funeral.

The city has since imposed a nightly curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.