JAMAL TRULOVE: ‘KAMALA HARRIS LAUGHED AT MY SENTENCING’

On 9 February 2010, a jury convicted Jamal Trulove, at the time an aspiring rapper in San Francisco, California, for first-degree murder with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court sentenced him to 50 years to life in prison.

On his Instagram page, @jamaltrulove, Trulove said US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who was the district attorney for San Francisco at the time, laughed at his sentencing.

On 11 March 2015, after five days of deliberation, the jury acquitted Trulove, releasing him from prison. In January 2016, Trulove filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco. In April 2018, a jury awarded Trulove $10 million. Black people bore the brunt of Kamala Harris’ time as prosecutor in California, reports indicate that she tried to keep inmates locked up for as long as possible, denying parole even to non-violent offenders, all so that the Golden State could rely more on their cheap labour while incarcerated.

Studies estimate 4 per cent to 6 per cent of inmates are wrongfully convicted. While Black people only make up 12 per cent of the US population, 38 per cent of our people comprise the prison population. Since 1989, 3,175 people have been exonerated.

What do you make of Trulove’s story? Let us know in the comments.

Video credit: @jamaltrulove