In 2015, 15-year-old LaKeith Smith was involved in a break-in gone wrong. When the police came firing gunshots, he fled, scared. His friend A’donte Washington was killed. But LaKeith was found guilty of A’donte’s murder. How?
In Alabama and across the country, the “felony murder” rule punishes anyone involved in a felony when someone gets killed, such as break-ins, vandalism, or drug use. These are things youth tend to do in groups. And when cops kill someone, they have often pinned the murder on the others.
LaKeith was offered a plea deal of 25 years and tried as an adult. When he went to court, the truth didn’t save him. An all-white jury and judge landed him 55 years in a maximum-security prison.
His team of advocates fought tirelessly for eight years. Then came victory: on March 21, LaKeith will have another hearing. And we can fight to stop him from spending his life in prison.
If you live in Alabama, you can contact the DA and join the campaign at this link: https://p2a.co/msinnzw. But if you don’t, you can still get his petition to a million signatures and explore other action items here: https://justiceforlakeithsmith.com/.
We’re almost there. Please share the word so we can get LaKeith home.