Recent events in Ferguson and other U.S. cities have generated a renewed focus on the relationship between the criminal justice system and communities of color. The Black Lives Matter campaign has drawn attention to extrajudicial killings of blacks by police and vigilantes as part of a systematic assault on the dignity of black people. The U.S. criminal justice system also fails to protect the black community or allowing members of the community to be killed with impunity. In Oakland, where nearly 70% of murders go unsolved, black men are almost 80% of the victims.
International human rights law requires States to ensure that violent crime is promptly and thoroughly investigated; that the perpetrators are detained, tried, convicted and punished; and that the family members are provided with adequate reparations that address the harms they have suffered. States must use all legal means to combat impunity, which left unchecked fosters “chronic recidivism” and the “total defenselessness of victims and their relatives.” Under human rights law, impunity is not only the consequence of human rights violations but also the cause of them. In Oakland, it is not only possible, but perpetrators are likely, to get away with murder.
The Clinic is conducting an empirical study of the impact of unsolved murders on the family members of murder victims in Oakland. This study explores the lived experiences of the family members of unsolved murder victims to contribute to a deeper understanding of their: 1) experience of the impacts of the murder; 2) priorities and needs; and 3) attitudes and opinions about law enforcement and victim service providers.
Beginning with the fall 2015 semester, Clinic students have prepared extensive background research on a variety of topics related to the study’s principle research questions and conducted nearly 30 interviews with key informants as part of the first phase of research. In the spring of 2017, students began to conduct interviews with family survivors of homicide under the supervision of faculty. Those interviews, the analysis of the research findings, and the drafting of a final report will take place over the 2017-2018 academic year.