Was Jordan Castro Innocent Until Proven Guilty

To be sure of something means taking all steps to check, check, and double check your surety, which is the state of being sure or certain of something. Yes, every human makes mistakes. But could I ask, how do multiple humans publically make the same “mistakes” continually with no consequential repercussions? To be fair means to be in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate. To be fair also means to act without cheating or trying to achieve unjust advantages. Why not did Officer Juventino Castro take all steps to ensure that he was getting the right “black male with a hoodie on” the night that he murdered Jordan Baker? Why was Jordan Baker not given a fair chance to prove his innocence? Why was he not innocent until proven guilty?

Castro’s assuming mind lead him to believe that this innocent man was guilty until proven otherwise, but Jordan Baker will never have the chance to prove otherwise. Castro reportedly told his supervisors that he stopped Baker because he fit the description of somebody who had been accused of recent burglaries. He also told them that Baker ran when he approached him and then reached into his waistband. That’s when Officer Castro, who claimed he feared for his life, said he fired once and hit Baker.

Let us give Officer Castro the benefit of the doubt and say that he did fear for his life. But why chase after someone that you are afraid of? Why corner someone whom you fear? To me, this is backwards. Jordan Baker feared for his life when Officer Castro started chasing him. Jordan Baker feared for his life whenever he was cornered in a dark alley without a clue as to why he was even being

The City of Houston has experienced an outbreak of such police-involved shootings of unarmed individuals, particularly African-Americans. This happens so often that they are defacto City policy. Nonetheless, the City of Houston has not done anything to address the uncontrollable shooting of unarmed individuals by its officers. And, like Officer Castro, the City has not been held accountable for its actions or inactions dealing with the shooting of unarmed individuals, like Baker, by its officers, like Castro. This action, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which states that, “Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia