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WFAE's coverage of the case of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Randall Kerrick charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Jonathan Ferrell. The court case ended in a mistrial.

Churches Open After Kerrick Mistrial

Sarah Delia

After a mistrial was declared in the case against CMPD officer Randall Kerrick, several Charlotte area churches were open Friday night. Not for sermons, but as a place for people to process the day’s news. WFAE’s Sarah Delia went to one those churches and has this report.

About 20 people gathered at Little Rock AME Zion Church in Charlotte’s Uptown. Its doors not usually open on a Friday night, welcomed people both black and white and from various faiths.

The gathering was informal, yet it had the feel of vigil or memorial. A somber place for people to share how they felt and to reflect.

People simply walked up to a microphone and said what was on their mind.

And when no one had anything to say, music was brought up. Several people bowed their heads in prayer, some leaned on each other. But all of them seemed to appreciate the reverence of a space that provided sanctuary to everyone.

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.