The Grand Jury.

How can a child of 12 be shot dead whilst playing in a children's playground by armed police. It's almost impossible to imagine happening in the Western World with its proclaimed pride in the rule of law and it's built in constraint on the powers of the law enforcement establishment.
The Americans are all over the place in their domestic affairs. A young black man was shot two months ago in a place called Ferguson by police. The shooting caused heavy rioting in the streets and any censorship of the police was passed inexplicably to something called the 'Grand Jury'. 

The call to a Grand Jury to determine whether a person can be brought to trial is only practised in America. It has the advantage of widening the deliberation on whether a crime has been committed to a jury of citizens who's interest and knowledge is pertinent to the crime. Of course therein lies the problem since in racial crimes, and many are, the jury reflect the demographic of the area. 
The demographics of Ferguson are predominantly white and it was predicted that ruling would come down, as it did, not to charge the police officer.
In this country we are extremely cautious of arming our police and the hoops they have to jump through to justify firing their weapons is sometimes difficult to justify. But justify we do and the concept that a life, anyone's life is precious is maintained.
In the States awash with guns, untold tragedies, school kids shot my unhinged pupils, is contrasted by the willingness, some one say, the necessity, of the police to fire first and ask questions afterwards.
Like the Wild West the Constitutional right to bear arms comes first, its part of their Bill of Rights, and, irrespective of the corrosive damage the death rate brings,especially to vulnerable parts of the society, the 'gun lobby' seems implacable with their financial clout and influence with the Senators.
Come re-election time, the law on the possession of a gun is unlikely to change.