In the Wake of Trayvon Martin, Series Explores Racial Profiling

September 4, 2018

THE INJUSTICE FILES: HOOD OF SUSPICION Premieres on Wednesday, February 13

Keith Beauchamp, executive producer of The Injustice Files: Hood of Suspicion

Since the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida last year, headlines have provoked arguments on racial profiling practices and self-defense laws.  Laws such as the “stand-your-ground” law, stating that a person may justifiably use force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful threat, have been since questioned as to whether they discriminate against minorities.  

Even in 2013, America still struggles with equal rights for young black men and women, and The Injustice Files will explore modern day racial profiling through the recent cases of Robbie Tolan, Rekia Boyd and John McNeil. 

In 2008, Robbie Tolan was shot in Bellaire, Texas after a police officer confronted him in his driveway.  An altercation ensued when the police officer reportedly pushed Robbie’s mother, leading the officer to fire a shot at Robbie when he responded to protect his mother.

Twenty-two year old Rekia Boyd was a bystander in Chicago’s Doulas Park when an off-duty officer fired a gun during a quarrel.  Boyd was killed by the bullet and the family continues to search for justice.  

John McNeil had recently moved into a new house in Kennesaw, Georgia when he received a call from his son who said there was a strange man outside.  Arriving at the house before the police department, he used his firearm to defend himself.  McNeil is now serving a life sentence in a Georgia prison after being arrested a year after the incident.

Keith Beauchamp, executive producer of The Injustice Files: Hood of Suspicion discusses the premiere of the show on Wednesday, February 13, on Investigation Discovery.  In the series, Beauchamp, an Emmy nominated filmmaker, looks at three distinct cases that illustrate how self-defense practices discriminate against African Americans.

 

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