Latasha Harlins, a 15 year old girl, was shot and killed on March 16, 1991. She was murdered 13 days after the videotape of the Rodney King beating was released.
The owner of the store (Soon Ja Du) saw Harlins place a bottle of orange juice in her backpack. Du believed that Latasha was attempting to steal the juice, but didn't see the money that Latasha had in her hand to pay for the juice.
A struggle ensued between Du and Latasha which ended with Latasha throwing the dropped juice bottle on the counter as she began to leave the store. Du then took out her gun and shot Latasha in the back of the head, killing her instantly.
In November, Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and was recommended by the jury to spend 16 years in prison. Unfortunately, Judge Joyce Karlin ignored the recommendation and in a true travesty of justice sentenced Du to 5 years probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $500.00 fine. This injustice in tandem with the Rodney King beating (the result of longstanding systemic racism, classism, racial profiling and police brutality, etc.) is often cited as a major catalyst of the 1992 Los Angeles "Riots".
No comments:
Post a Comment