We, the undersigned, feel profound sympathy for family and friends of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year old victim of a shooting on Chicago’s South Side.  Her tragic death was cruel and unfair, and it should not have happened.

We also feel sympathy for the family and friends of the accused, Michael Ward and Kenneth Williams, who are now likely to lose these two young men to the prison system for a very long time.

We are concerned about the following:   

1. Political pressure to "solve" the case must not prevent real justice for Hadiya's family.  

To date, there have been no witnesses, nor physical evidence linking Michael and Kenneth to the crime.  Further, this case may go before a jury who has been highly influenced by the high profile nature of this case, and under immense pressure to do something visible and punitive to address rampant violence occurring in Chicago. Real justice for Hadiya means real investigation of the crime, lest we convict the wrong people. 

2.  We want assurance that Michael and Kenneth will receive a fair trial and a just process.  

There were no attorneys present during the interrogations of these young men.  They were detained by police for 48 hours before they were allowed to contact attorneys. This is against the law.  While Michael Ward has reportedly confessed, Kenneth has not.   Both young men are being held without bail.  

We understand that the criminal justice system in Chicago has a history of forced confessions, false convictions, and unlawful procedures in order to hastily “solve” crimes.  Due to the high profile nature of this case, we are concerned that Michael Ward and Kenneth Williams are in the process of being disappeared in the criminal legal system…never to be heard from again. Their guilt and fate should not be determined before a fair trial.

 

3. The media must be responsible in their portrayals of Michael and Kenneth. 

Media portrayals must be careful to not contribute to the development of a lynch mob mentality.  The media must act responsibly in characterizing the young men charged in a truthful manner and share descriptions of them by those who know them best.  Kenneth’s family maintains that he is not in a gang, has never had any run-ins with the law, and is a sports aficionado.  He is a graduate of the same selective enrollment school that Hadiya Pendleton attended, King College Preparatory High School.   Kenneth is a student at Malcolm X College and has been accepted into the Air Force.  Michael Ward as been described by his family as a loving son and father.

 

 

In light of such a heinous crime, we must not turn away from a collective commitment to love, heal and respect young people. In seeking justice, we must respect the full constitutional rights of all parties, and resist our impulses to simply punish and banish.  This commitment to love applies to young people on both sides of the bullet.

We, the undersigned, want to see justice for the death of Hadiya Pendleton and a fair and just process for Michael Ward and Kenneth Williams.