The killing of Latasha Harlins

On March 16, 1991, Latasha walked into a liquor market and deli in South L.A. Du the store owner, accused her of trying to steal a $1.79 bottle of orange juice. witnesses say that she was just trying to put the juice in her backpack to then later pay Du the $2 she had in her hand. After Du kept accusing her of stealing, Latasha gave up and dropped the juice to the ground and attempted to leave without it. Du then picked up a handgun and fired a shot in the back of her head, killing her instantly. The LAPD concluded that there was no attempt in shoplifting. A jury did find Du guilty of manslaughter which carried a maximum of 16 years in prison. However, Judge Joyce A. Karlin only gave her probation, 400 hours of community service and a $500 fine. This horrible incident happened a couple days after the Rodney King case so you can only imagine how furious the whole community was. I think that this was very unfair because Du really got away with murder. This stands as a sad symbol of criminal injustice. She was only 15 years old not even at a legal age she was very innocent and in just matter of seconds he life was taken away.