Skip to main content
Statement

An Egregious Miscarriage of Justice, An Insult to the Memory of Breonna Taylor

September 23, 2020
Police Reform

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Statement of Beatriz Beckford, national director for youth and education justice at MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the Jefferson County, Kentucky grand jury decision not to charge any of the police officers with murder in the shooting of Breonna Taylor, and not to charge two of them at all.

“Shock. Outrage. We stand with the family and loved ones of Breonna Taylor, Black Lives Matter Louisville, the tens of thousands of activists in Kentucky, and the national Movement for Black Lives in calling for justice. There is no other way fair-minded people can react to the grand jury decision announced in Louisville today. We support the movement demands that three officers responsible for Breonna Taylor’s murder should have been fired, charged with murder, and had their pensions revoked. The fact that none of that happened is an egregious miscarriage of justice and a painful reminder of how much work lies ahead to root out white supremacy and the devastation and violence it evokes in this country.

“Further, we echo the cries of the organizers on the ground and thousands of justice-minded people who have used their platforms to demand justice and demand that the Louisville police department be defunded. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer must resign immediately or be fired. And the wheels of justice should continue to turn until there has been real accountability for the murder of Breonna Taylor, a young woman who served others as an essential worker and whose whole life was ahead of her, until Louisville police murdered her as she slept in her bed.

“Our hearts are with Breonna Taylor’s mom and all those who love her. We will not stop demanding justice, in this case and others, because until police officers who commit crimes are held accountable, none of us and none of our communities are safe.”

 

Wanna help out in Louisville?

Louisville Community Bail Fund:  http://bit.ly/LouCommBailFund

BLM General Fund: http://bit.ly/BLMLou

Anti Eviction Fund: http://bit.ly/evictionfund

Healing for Louisville: http://bit.ly/502healing

# # # #

MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.