Can protest violence ever be a moral act? The United States is grappling with how to respond to the looting and destruction now sweeping nightly through some American cities.

Our next story is a portrait of generosity in a pandemic. America’s food pantries face dwindling supplies and skyrocketing need. But with tenacity and heart, they’re stepping up to the challenge. 

We know that voting integrity is a democratic cornerstone. But how the U.S. protects the accuracy of the vote during a pandemic is now a matter of hot debate.

One of the ironies of the pandemic is that although we face a common challenge, everyone’s experience is very different. Our reporter takes an empathetic look at what lockdown has meant for a deaf boda-boda driver in Uganda.

In a pandemic, some people bake. Our reporter is among those who are finding comfort, companionship, and relief in video games.

Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general and now lead prosecutor in the case involving the death of George Floyd, is choosing his words carefully these days. He says he seeks no rush to judgment against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with the homicide. He wants the trial to be fair “to all parties.” He pleads for patience from protesters seeking a swift conviction. The trial could take months. He says he simply wants the “facts and the law” to prevail.

In other words, justice in the case will be individual. It will not be directed at a group, such as white policemen, or at a class, such as a wealthy establishment. Any punishment will be solely for an unlawful act, not a racist motive.

Inside the courtroom, Mr. Ellison will not be seeking systemic change or social justice. He merely wants, as he says, “the highest level of accountability” for Mr. Floyd’s death. Winning the case would be enough because, he says, too many other trials for alleged police brutality in the United States have not resulted in convictions.

His approach sends a message to protesters attacking police buildings or other government buildings. The justice system must judge individuals on their acts, treating them without dehumanizing stereotypes – even if they treated their victims with dehumanizing stereotypes. Black protesters who fear they or their loved ones might be the next victim of police deserve to have that message made loud and clear.

The former Democratic congressman is not against systemic reform. He seeks to diminish the power of Minneapolis’ police union. He supports a bill in Congress that would require federal officers to use force only when necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury.

In a trial, however, society does not seek broad-brush solutions but individual justice – truth-telling and accountability. The best answer to the inequality of police brutality is the practice of equal justice for all.

Law, fairly administered to each individual, is not the enemy of social justice. Rather, it ensures that individual rights remain at the heart of ending group inequities.