Source: Marion County Sheriff’s Office / MCSO
A prosecutor in Florida has declined to pursue murder charges against Susan Lorincz, who shot and killed Ajike “AJ” Owens, who was unarmed.
On Monday (June 26th), State Attorney William Gladson publicly announced the criminal charges brought against Lorincz for Owens’ killing, and cited “insufficient evidence” as a reason that his office would not upgrade the charge of manslaughter to murder, claiming that they couldn’t establish that she showed “a depraved mind toward the victim at the time of the killing.” Gladson said that he had consulted with Owens’ family before the announcement. “My office will do all it can to seek justice for Ms. Owens and her family,” he said.
Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, expressed that the family was “devastated” by the decision. “How do I explain to AJ’s children, my young grandbabies, that the loss of their mother’s life is still not being taken seriously?” she said to a local news network. “Only a living, breathing AJ would be true justice, and today’s charge could not be further from that.” Reverend Al Sharpton also blasted the decision in a statement: “The fact that this woman hurled insults including the N-word at her children and proclaimed, ‘this isn’t the underground railroad, slave,’ should be enough for the Justice Department to investigate this as a federal hate crime.
The mother of four, who is Black, had gone to Lorincz’s door in their Ocala neighborhood to confront her for taking an iPad that belonged to one of her children on June 2nd. Lorincz, a white woman who has a history of documented racist behavior, shot through the door striking Owens who was standing next to her 9-year-old son at the time. Owens died later at a local hospital. Lorincz wouldn’t be arrested until June 6th, after heavy public pressure about the case prevailed. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office claimed that the delay was due to investigating if the incident fell under the “Stand Your Ground” law, which would make it justified.
The 58-year-old Lorincz is being held on a $154,000 bond at the Marion County Jail on a charge of manslaughter with a firearm. Protests over the decision were scheduled for Monday evening. Owens’ family has also created a website where those concerned can take action in addition to a surging GoFundMe campaign, with one of those actions including a petition to repeal Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” gun laws.
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