Bishop TD Jakes

The jury sent an unmistakable message today that George Floyd’s death was unnecessary and criminal, that every individual accused or suspected of a crime has a right to his day in court and should not be slaughtered on a public sidewalk and that a nation that purports to be a beacon of law, justice and equality is better than what we saw in that video.⁣
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We are pleased that the jury convicted Chauvin on all three charges: second-degree unintentional murder and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. It sends a strong message.⁣
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While we are delighted by the jury’s verdict, we are mindful that there’s still a lot of work ahead of us. Our criminal justice system remains deeply flawed. Black people disproportionately remain victims of police brutality and are more likely to be pulled over or cited for negligible or phantom traffic violations. Let us not relent in our efforts to press our local, state and federal elected officials for police reform, particularly as it relates to qualified immunity, bias training, de-escalation training and uniform hiring standards.⁣
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My prayer is that this will ignite a safer society where justice is equally allocated to absolutely everyone irrespective of socio-economics, race, religion or gender. Thank you to the many officers who do not stoop to such atrocities and honestly work toward protecting us every day.