WHAT IS #IAmBlackInnocent?
"African-Americans are much more likely than Whites to be wrongfully convicted and spend time in prison before being exonerated. Racial disparities and systemic racial profiling are evident. Race is the overwhelming factor as it relates to criminal justice. May we inspire and implement reform to this societal crisis. Participation in the fight for justice and social consciousness is paramount. 30 years after being wrongfully convicted, #IAmBlackInnocent"
Our Mission
#IAmBlackInnocent is a project which supports wrongfully convicted men and women in seeking justice by raising public awareness of police and judicial misconduct. IAmBlackInnocent endeavors to provide resources for families to stay connected during the incarceration of a loved one through fundraising and community partnership and sponsorships.
#IamBlackInnocent IS ALSO WHAT I AM!
“They tried hard to get a confession out of me and even promised that I would only do 8 years, if I confessed. They wanted me to confess to the crime on video tape. The more I denied doing the crime, the angrier and more violent and barbaric they became. They made sure not to bruise my face because you know… the cameras…but, they kept hitting me with telephone books on my head. They kicked and punched my body like it was a punching bag. They’d ask questions about people I knew that had nothing to do with the case, just to keep abusing me. They said that people from Queens told them that they knew me from such and such projects. Each statement more absurd than the one before.
They were talking about things that had nothing to do with anything. They even deployed, as a strategic measure, an attractive female detective to try and coerce me to confess. This was after several hours of constant and merciless beating. She pretended to care about me by speaking tenderly which was in stark contrast to the brute detectives reigning down a barrage of punches on me. She brought orange juice for me to drink and a warm compress to soothe my wounds, and in that very moment, she was nurturing. I was somewhat relaxed, which is what they wanted.
It started off seemingly pleasant and then she moved in for the kill by earnestly trying to convince me, “maybe you were high and don’t remember that you shot the cop, Shawn. That is possible you know.” “No, officer. I was not high and I didn’t shoot any cop,” was my truthful response. She flipped so fast and began kicking and cursing me. She called me everything but a child of God. Not only was I being physically abused, but now also verbally abused.
They were trying to reduce me to a state of nothingness and it suddenly began to feel like they were succeeding. I was exhausted and mentally drained. I was tired and sleepy and so very scared, but I was not about to admit to a crime that I did not commit. Not now. Not ever. I was a man and I would take the punishment like a man and never, ever, admit to something that I know I didn’t do. Besides, I held onto the belief that they would soon learn that I didn’t do it. I was still trying to convince myself that there was no way that this radical injustice, in a superpower like America, could happen to me. I was wrong!”
Excerpt from my forthcoming memoir,
Undefeated & Unbroken: The Shawn Boyd Story
LET'S CONNECT
Follow #IAmBlackInnocent on social media to stay up to date on what we are working towards.