A grand jury failed on Monday to issue any indictments in the case of Sandra Bland’s death in a Texas jail cell in July, but the case remains open. Bland’s death has been ruled a suicide — she was found hanged in her cell — but that conclusion drew wide suspicion and condemnation by activists who considered suicide an unlikely scenario. Bland was a 28-year-old black Illinois woman who was stopped in her vehicle by Texas state trooper Brian Encinia, who took her to jail after a routine stop turned into a scuffle. Bland’s death in jail days later received national attention, increased by footage posted online of Bland’s arrest (below).
The grand jury is not finished with the case, however, and will reconvene in January to deliberate further. Special prosecutor Darrell Jordan stressed that the case was not over. Jordan did not specify which issues remained for the grand jury to consider. “The case is not over,” Jordan said. “That’s what I’m stressing right now. The case is not over.”
