While police across the nation are killing unarmed Blacks with impunity, a woman in Los Angeles may spend the rest of her life in jail for allegedly touching police equipment.
According to reports by the Los Angeles Times, Trishawn Cardessa Carey was in the vicinity when police shot and killed Charly Keunang in March. Keunang was an unarmed homeless man who scuffled with police before they shot him dead.
Carey, 34, witnessed the killing of her friend and allegedly grabbed a police officer’s nightstick which had fallen to the ground during the scuffle. Carey didn’t swing the nightstick or harm anyone while it was in her possession. However, she was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer and resisting arrest. Her bail was set at $1 million.
Deputy D.A. Greg Denton believes that Carey attempted to attack a police officer by picking up the nightstick. If she is convicted, Carey will face life in prison under California’s three-strikes sentencing for repeat offenders.
It’s a cruel and inhumane punishment for a person who has faced despair for most of her life. She was forced into prostitution by her mother at age 14 and she continues to struggle with mental health disorders while living on the streets.
After hearing Carey’s troubling life story, the judge reduced her bail from $1 million to $50,000. However, the charges have yet to be dropped. It would be an extreme form of injustice if a woman is sent to prison for the rest of her life for touching a nightstick.
