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Petition Demands ‘Felony Lynching’ Conviction be Overturned
Pasadena Independent Jun 13, 2016
VIP tables at center piazza. Photo by Giuseppe Mastrobuono
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Jasmine Richards. – Courtesy photo
A Care2 petition, with over 8,100 signatures, is demanding that Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey overturn Black Lives Matter activist Jasmine Richards’ “felony lynching” conviction.
Richards was convicted of “felony lynching” after attempting to free another black woman from police custody. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation, but initially faced four years in prison.
Richards is the first black woman to be convicted of this charge.
The Care2 petition quotes a Black Lives Matter press release that justified Richards’ actions: “Police … cannot be trusted to … guarantee arrestees will make it home alive. Removing a black person from police custody can be a life-saving action.”
Care2 petition author Michael Williams asserts that the arrest and conviction is part of a concerted effort on behalf of Pasadena officials to suppress Richards from organizing and speaking out. He calls her conviction “political persecution.”
View the petition online at: www.thepetitionsite.com/283/486/947.
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