Pedro Hernandez is currently incarcerated within Riker’s Island. He was arrested in 2015 for a shooting outside of a grocery store. Eight eyewitnesses including the victim of the shooting have testified that Pedro Hernandez is not the shooter. The exact same thing happened to Kalief Browder, inside Riker’s Island. New York City has failed to do better, even after promising that what happened to Kalief Browder would never happen again. Pedro has no previous charges keeping him in custody, he is simply being locked up because he is refusing to admit to a crime he did not commit.
Pedro Hernandez is not the new Kalief Browder. People of Color are not expendable like that. Kalief Browder has an individual story as does Kalief Browder. It would be extremly offensive to name Pedro the new Kalief, disregarding Kalief’s story. Pedro Hernandez currently needs help getting out of prison. Kalief Browder needs to be honored and remembered.
There is a fundraiser going on to get Pedro Hernandez to make bail. If you are in an area that does not have a strong progressive community that won’t organize in protest, here’s how you can get involved. Shaun King is trying to raise 50,000 for Pedro Hernandez, I understand money can be tight, but anything can help. Fighting against racism is the cause.
