Denise Harlins, Latashas aunt, was unhappy with the judge for obvious reasons, and said, Im glad to hear that shes removed herself from the bench and that shes retired. community in 1991 for placing on probation a Korean-American shopkeeper 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. But I'm also aware that it's not the same struggle. Words were exchanged. one particular sentencea slim basis for a challenge under any circumstances, challenge of the Karlins sentence in the case would be a longshot. But, he Joyce Karlin Fahey, who recently served two terms as mayor of Manhattan to leave the bench, a But in the end, we wound up getting married and came to the United States. South-Central Los Angeles grocer to probationrather than prisonfor killing a Five, in an order by Acting Presiding Justice Herbert Ashby, issued an Just being part of the same community with her, and knowing that she is a Korean woman who lives in Los Angeles, and that there is a high chance that I went to church with someone who went to church with her there's something about being part of a minority group or a tight-knit ethnic group in America that kind of makes you adopt these group emotions And I think this is something that is common to people in minority groups that you feel anger as a group, or you feel grief, or shame. because he wouldnt shift Karlin from a criminal department at the Compton Even though Soon Ja Du, the accused, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the judge gave her a very lenient sentence: a $500 fine, 400 hours of community service, and 5 years of probation with no jail time. Joyce Karlin-The trial judge in Du vs Harlins case, Did Mrs. Du react inappropriately? Harlins was found clutching two dollars, more than the cost of the drink, in her hand. Shinese Harlins says her mother put out a fire that someone started at Empire Liquors, the store owned by Soon Ja Du and her family. Riots examines the tragic death of a fifteen-year-old black girl on March 16, 1991, and its repercussions. On November 15, 1991, Soon Ja Du was convicted for voluntary manslaughter and was potentially facing up to 16 years behind bars for the incident. Court. This one came from inside Empire Liquors, capturing a Korean American grocer, Soon Ja Du, shooting 15-year-old Latasha Harlins in the back of the head. hide caption. She didnt do nothing!. The Korean grocer's killing of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins raised tensions in the Black community just two weeks after Rodney King's beating. Her sentence seemed to have the opposite effect, however; she became the target of protests and an unsuccessful recall campaign. $500 to the restitution fund, reimburse the girls family for medical and "On the eve of the rebellion you have on the one hand, concentrated poverty, the lack of opportunities, plus the expansion of policing," he says. added, its essential that an appeal be taken because the sentence was ensued, which led to punches being thrown. Background Checks Business Solutions people phone reverse address City, State or ZIP (Required) Log InSign Up #eazye #SoonJaDu #LatashaHarlins |Eazy-E Speaks on the Korean Store owner who killed Latasha Harlins | check out my other videos if you have not already done. But the second and third generations are the ones to lead that united Korean community, and I hope for that. decision to challenge the sentence: Although Reiners announcement to appeal nonetheless constitutes a tentative determination that she erredthus lending Before, Joyce worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles and even presided over the Darnell Garcia case. All you people sitting, applauding over a child killer, Harlins yelled. remark out of context, a fact that was generally grasped. . In July, post the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Harlins family was awarded $300,000 in the settlement. It was Dus husband, Billy Heung Ki Du, who ended up calling 911. On March 16, 1991, Soon Ja Du fatally shot a 15-year-old African-American girl, Latasha Harlins, in her convenience store. Set in present-day Los Angeles, the novel is centered on Korean American Grace Park, a nave and dutiful daughter who lives and works in the Valley with her secret-keeping parents, and Shawn Matthews, an African American ex-con whose sister was murdered by a Korean grocery store owner. When then-Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joyce It is remembered by many Korean-Americans as an awakening to their minority status, a time they felt abandoned by the government and unfairly portrayed by the media as aggressors despite inadequate law enforcement protection. In 1992, Karlin was the only one of 82 Superior Court judges to face electoral opposition. Unlike the LAPD officers, Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter with the jury. After the smoke cleared and the bodies were buried, there was talk about police reform and community policing and changes at LAPD in 1992. Dus testimony was contradicted by the two eye-witnesses and the video which was revived from the store security camera. Five months after the sentencing, dozens of Korean-owned businesses were looted and set on fire in the 1992 riots. A taut novel that explores Korean and Black racial tensions that arose amidst the LA race riots of 1992. shooting was captured on the stores surveillance tape and widely shown by the After all, a video of an immigrant Korean store owner shooting the teenager in the back of her head followed at the heels of the Rodney King incident. A regular girl who dreamed of being a lawyer, who lost her mother to gun violence. Soon Ja Du, age 60s, lives in Los Angeles, CA. When all was said and done, Soon Ja Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but the judge in the case ordered a sentence of only five years probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine. respectability to District Attorney Ira Reiners politically motivated stunt in Her daughter, at that time, was an 8th grader who was enrolled at Manhattan Beach Middle School, and Joyce was the parliamentarian for the PTA executive board at the school. community anger generated by Karlins ruling to be channeled constructively. In her written statement, Karlin said her resignation would become effective next month. In Korea, I met my husband. Chun Doo-hwan, South Korea's most vilified former military dictator, who seized power in a coup and ruled his country with an iron fist for most of the 1980s . Charles Lloyd, the Black attorney who defended "It was a rebellion against the beating of Rodney King captured on video," he says but it was more than that. Soon Ja Du claimed that she was in fear for her life when she shot Latasha Harlins in the back of the head. relays this report from Los Angeles: District Attorney Ira Reiner ordered Bang Hai Ja (1937-2022) was a Korean-born abstract painter, stained-glass artist and calligrapher, who since 1961 has been based in Paris.Light has been a central theme in her work, representing joy, peace and love in her aim to unite East and West. Karlin and Dus son also attended that ceremony. She was given probation and paid the family 500.00 dollars. Yun Jai-Hyoung/Associated Press. as Reiner is gearing up for re-election.. My husbands income alone was not enough for us to get by I think he was paid $2 an hour. Police Chief Daryl Gates, who invented SWAT, retired. the jurys determination, and substitute her own judgmentfor provocation, challenged the sentence via a writ proceeding. And even on the streets, I could tell that people were not kind. consciously to pull the trigger and to exert considerable strength to do so., But that was not true of the gun used to shoot Park doesn't discount tensions between Korean Americans and Black people at the time or even now but she thinks that is in part a failure of education, "because Korean immigrant merchants, they are not exposed to African American history and their struggles," she says, and vice versa. engendered by robberies and terrorism in the store. Many uninsured businesses never re-opened, uprooting the lives of Korean-American families who had labored for years to build their livelihoods from scratch. It is the most professional School Board we have ever seen. She got the position, and in 2002, she even served as the mayor of the city. Soon Ja Du testified on her own behalf, and she claimed that she shot Harlins in self-defence as she believed that her life was in danger. That is She now usesthough she didnt thenthe surname of her husband, Consequently, people in the community felt that there were different standards of justice for different races. And I remember seeing news coverage of the rioting in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Grey. convicted of voluntary manslaughter of a 15-year black girl suspected of "And been the wind in the sails of a political agenda that uses law and order to discipline the working class." It was at a press conference that Reiner announced his I have serious questions in my mind whether this crime would You need to protect us. And we had an arguments saying, You cant go out.. Indeed, Karlin did not simply put out of mind So with the help of the owner we got a basement room, where, when you look outside, you could only see peoples feet walking by. A jury found the shopkeeper guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but the judge gave her 5 years probation without jail time. Lora King has a role in it, as Harlins' guidance counselor, because the families are connected. acting under the misimpression that this was simply an accidental shooting. media. The property later became a market under different ownership. Soon Ja Du is a Korean immigrant whose family owned the Empire Liquor Store at the intersection of 91st St. and Figueroa Ave. back in the 90s. over-reaction was understandable in light of the climate of intense fear This is something that I wanted to address too. In the local station's original interview with Ja Du, the reporter identifies Ja Du as a "transsexual" and. At the trial, Soon Ja Du testified that she killed Latasha in self-defense, but the witness testimony and stores security camera presented contrary evidence. Because Rodney King was just one person, but if you saw it on television, several officers beat him with a club and kicked him I did not imagine that he would survive after such beatings. : Made In America. City News Service report ably summarizes the case which had roused emotions six Normally, Dus husband or son was behind the counter, but this was not the case that day. A Korean-born merchant,. November 14, 2017. As the teenager turned to leave the store, the gun On November 15, 1991, the jury found Du guilty and delivered the verdict stating that Du fired the gun voluntarily. On the privilege that Asian Americans benefit from in the criminal justice system, compared with African Americans. The jury found the defendant guilty of Harlins was 15-years-old when she was killed by Korean grocer Soon Ja Du, who assumed Harlins was stealing. Many Korean-Americans run mom-and-pop markets in black title. Then Radio Korea without verifying, well there was no such verification process then, they just had to believe incoming reports. For African Americans, the sentence that was given to her was . the presiding judge of the court, Ricardo Torres, is likewise targeted just According to her, the rioters, the blacks occupied the roof of the restaurant called Wonsan Myeonok and caused chaos, and she sought for help. After entering the store, Latasha got a bottle of orange juice from the shelf and placed it in her backpack. Because though he was born here, he experienced the difficult times when he was young, when we had brought him to our workplaces in our struggling days. In March 1991, 15-year-old Harlins, a straight-A student at Westchester High School, entered a corner store to buy orange juice for her family. judge only a few months agofrom ever trying another criminal case. Reiner Mounts Assault on Judge Joyce Karlin Over Sentencing of Unlike so many other places, Empire Liquors survived the next 5 days of rage, protest, and revolt what came to be known as the LA riots. gladdened many hearts in the African-American community, it should be noted When she saw him afterwards, she didn't recognize his face. The bullet struck Harlins in the head, killing her, and the his assault on a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner, Daniel Calabro (since and having the county counsel argue the validity of her action. Something might happen. We sensed it. There's a movie coming out about Latasha Harlins soon. And I think there's an impulse to consider it the same struggle, or part of the same thing, but the reality is that Asian Americans are treated differently from black Americans. "They drafted a document called, 'Give us the hammer and the nails, and we will rebuild the city.'" Pete Wilson, could have sentenced Du to 16 years in state prison. Ordinarily, this would That still holds true today, he says. And I said, No, you cant. aside than a pivotal determination. Shinese Harlins-Kilgore, cousin of Latasha Harlins and CEO of the Latasha Harlins Foundation, receives a hug from Lora King, daughter of Rodney King and CEO of the Rodney King Foundation, during the 30th anniversary of the Rodney King Civil Unrest HOPE Community Bus Tour Press conference in Los Angeles. In fact, the store had a reputation of accusing kids in the neighborhood for shoplifting when they didnt buy something. The Nov. 27 issue of the All Korean small business owners are stand-ins for Soon Ja Du, a Los Angeles convenience store owner who in 1991 killed Black customer Latasha Harlins, after a struggle in the store over a suspected shoplifting. The mother said this about her candidacy My recent experience on City Council gives me a unique opportunity to bridge any gap, if there is one, between the city and the School District. My husband came as a skilled worker immigrant. number of children. Videotape of the incident was broadcast over and over again nationwide, both because of the horror over what had happened and the new reality of a 24-hour news cycle that played out in real-time on cable TV, but just two weeks after that beating on March 16th, Korean American business owner, Soon Ja Du shot and killed 15-year-old Latasha . 13 days later, Soon Ja Du, a Korean-born convenience store owner accused 15-year old Latasha Harlins of stealing and shot her in the back of the head. While disapproving the jurys recommendation of 16 years of imprisonment, Joyce Karlin stated. $500 to the restitution fund, reimburse the girls family for medical and Instead, she [issued a] She lived in various countries like Italy, Germany, and Argentina when she was growing up. Soon Ja Du and her family migrated to Los Angeles in 1976 when she was 35 years old. 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