Baltimore Residents Head To Courthouse To Watch Freddie Gray Trial

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As the trial unfolds, each day people from all walks of life are going to the courthouse to watch it in person.

Derek Valcourt has more on who some of those people are and why they're watching.

Some of these people are here for professional reasons. For some, it's personal; they knew Freddie Gray. Others want to see and hear the evidence for themselves.

"Ain't nothing really changed," said 16-year-old Melvin Townes.

Townes knows the impact the April riots had on his west Baltimore neighborhood.

"I was there. I was on Penn North," he said.

But unlike many of his peers, he wants to hear the evidence against Officer William Porter for himself, not second-hand. And after several days of testimony...

"One moment, I'm like, `Oh yeah, he's gonna go to jail,' but once when I heard the defense side, I'm like, `Ah, yeah, he might got a chance,'" he said. "But you have to wait."

"I have a problem with the justice system," said Rosemary Ellen Cosgrove.

Cosgrove lives in Baltimore County, far from the neighborhoods impacted by the turmoil around Freddie Gray's death.

"I have a thing about justice and truth," she said.

And then there's Ralph Johnson.

"I wanted to come because I wanted to hear the story behind the headlines," he said.

Johnson is planning to write a book around the Freddie Gray story. For him, sitting in court has been research and hearing the evidence firsthand has been eye-opening.

"It changed my mind a lot because I actually thought that it was a slam dunk type of case but it actually wasn't because you get away from your bias and you're actually hearing from both sides," he said.

They're joined inside the courtroom by several prominent Baltimore attorneys who are not part of the case. Some provide daily commentary and analysis to the media; others are there to watch and learn on the key lessons this highly public trial can teach.

Also in the courtroom, we have seen Freddie Gray's family at times. There have also been attorneys representing some of the other accused officers and, of course, many members of the media.