In 2010, Kamala Harris sat in a courtroom and laughed as Jamal Trulove was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder. There was only one problem: Trulove was innocent.
“Every time I hear her laugh, this is all I remember,” the performer and director said in an interview with The Art of Dialogue.
Trulove was exonerated in a 2015 retrial that proved he was framed by police, but he can never get back the six years he spent in prison. Trulove is one of a growing number of cases from Kamala Harris’s time as a prosecutor that is coming under increased scrutiny now that she is officially the Democratic nominee for President.
Trulove is perhaps the highest profile African American man speaking about the injustices Black men face in criminal justice and criticizing Harris for her role in that.
“She abused her power at every level of government, what makes you think she’s not going to abuse it if she becomes president?” said Trulove in a post on Instagram. “This is what led to countless of wrongful convictions under her watch. Some will never be able to prove their innocence.”
Vice President Harris has drawn criticism from media ranging from Vice to the San Francisco Appeal for her aggressive actions as a prosecutor even going so far as to use the word “misconduct.” OC Weekly went further into her record as California Attorney General and allowing dirty cops to flourish.
Harris has even taken heat for fighting to keep nonviolent prisoners in jail and for opposition to payments to wrongly convicted individuals. All of this happened while Harris shielded known child sexual predators from prosecution.
Attacks by Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) on Kamala Harris record are credited with ending Harris’s 2020 bid for the Presidency. Now, as Harris tries to position her campaign against former President Trump as one of “prosecutor vs. Felon,” her record comes under renewed scrutiny.
Organizations such as Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People and Families Movement have spoken against Harris, pointing out that 1 in 3 Black men in America have a felony conviction.
Jamal Trulove and other victims are not keeping silent.
