"I can't breath" were George Floyd's last words. These words triggered a national conversation about the fairness of the criminal justice system, especially for Black men.

Today, the Center for Prosecutor Integrity, SAVE's partner organization, issued a press release, one year after Floyd's tragic death. The release highlights how victim-centered investigative methods have a disparate, harmful effect on African-Americans:

• Analyses show that 40% of all wrongful convictions arise from police investigative misconduct with Black male defendants. The flawed investigative methods include misconduct in interrogations, witness tampering, making false statements at trial, or concealment/fabrication of evidence.

The press release also highlights the Abby Honold Act, which inexplicably promotes victim-centered "trauma-informed" methods:

• On February 1, 2021, Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN) and John Cornyn (TX), and Representatives Tom Emmer (MN) and Annie Kuster (NH) introduced the Abby Honold Act (S. 119 and H.R. 649). The bill promotes the use of a victim-centered method known as “trauma-informed.” The bill announcement made no mention of “impartial investigations,” “due process,” or the “presumption of innocence.” Bill sponsors touted how the bill would increase the likelihood of “successfully” prosecuting crimes.

Please pass this Update along. Together, we will stop these long-standing investigative biases against Black men.

Sincerely,

Edward Bartlett