This story was originally reported by Candice Norwood of The 19th. Meet Candice and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. Adrienne Hood sat back in her chair as she stared at the detective sitting across from her. “I see your son wasn’t a felon,” he said casually, glancing down at the […]
Columbus Ohio
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gun Violence
A Broken Justice System Is Only Deepening the Grief of Sinzae Reed’s Family
Megan Reed was in the middle of cooking dinner when she was startled by someone repeatedly banging on the front door of her Columbus, Ohio, apartment. A neighbor alerted her that her youngest son, Sinzae Reed, was shot. Reed rushed out of their second-floor apartment in the Wedgewood Village Apartments complex with food still cooking […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gun Violence
Sinzae Reed’s Admitted Killer Evades Homicide Charges
The mother of Sinzae Reed is furious after a grand jury decided not to file homicide-related charges against the man who admitted to killing her 13-year-old son last year. After two days of testimony this week, a grand jury in Columbus, Ohio, instead decided to file felony charges against Krieg Allen Butler, 37, of tampering […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gun Violence
Unarmed and Killed: Sinzae Reed’s Family Awaits Justice Four Months Later
It has been nearly four months since 13-year-old Sinzae Reed was fatally shot in an Ohio apartment complex by his neighbor Krieg Butler, a 36-year-old white man. The boy’s death was declared a homicide after a county coroner’s autopsy found he had been shot twice, including a fatal wound to the chest. But Butler remains […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gun Violence
A 13-Year-Old Black Boy Was Killed. Will Stand-Your-Ground Protect the Shooter?
A white man accused of killing a 13-year-old Black boy in Columbus, Ohio, has roamed free for nearly 90 days after prosecutors dismissed murder charges against him, prompting the boy’s family to demand officials provide an explanation and put the man back behind bars. Police say Krieg Allen Butler claimed he fired a gun in […]