Nadani Jawahir

Professor Moser

Composition of Individual & Society

23 November 2020

                 Genre #1- Short Story

In the state of California where the death penalty is still legal, An African American family once lived. The family was a perfect little family consisting of the mother Joanna Wright, the father Andrew Wright, and their baby boy Kevin Wright. Joanna and Andrew have been planning to go to Coachella for a while for their wedding anniversary. Coachella is a carnival-like event where people dance, listen to different artists display their work, drink, wear fancy costumes and outfits.  They pre-order their tickets and were slowly buying clothing for the event.  As April came around, they decided they would hire a babysitter for their child because he was too young to attend and they wanted to spend time as a couple together. The day of Coachella arrived, and they were ready to have fun. The babysitter was taking care of their child, and they were on their way to the event venue. They arrived and were having fun, dancing, drinking, meeting new people, and celebrating their anniversary. It was a week-long event, and they were there for it all. 

On the first day of the event, they had many artists performing,for example, Harry Styles, 21 Savage, Roddy Ricch, Billie Eilish, and many more. Joanna and Andrew met a group of friends who were around the same age group as them and instantly became friends with them. The group had five friends; Angie, Rebecca, Angel, Justin, and Ryan.  On the second day, they were really tired but still wanted to party. They had breakfast at their hotel and went straight to Coachella. Some artist that was performing was Ali Gatie, Joji, Frank Ocean, Lewis Capaldi, Conan Gray, and many more. They felt like that day was sad because of all the artists singing sad songs. They wanted to spice things up, so they agreed to go to a club in California with the group. After the club, they went to the group hotel and party a little more and stayed the night there.  On the third day of the event, Joanna and Andrew had breakfast with the group of friends at a diner and then went to Coachella. The artist of that day was Koffee, DaBaby, Summer Walker, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and many more. They separated from the group and were having fun by themselves as a couple.

 After Coachella ended, they were drunk and were waiting for their Uber to return to their hotel. While waiting, they noticed that a man was acting inappropriately with a female in the corner of the street. The woman was one of the new people they met and became friends with her name was Rebecca. They both witnessed the man we will call him John Doe having an argument with Rebecca, and he then stabbed her with a knife multiple times. They both yelled for help for someone to call 911 while they rushed to Rebecca since they both knew her. John fled and Andrew was holding Rebecca in his hand, trying to stop the bleeding. A friend group that came out of the venue saw and immediately called 911. 

As the cops came, they automatically assumed that Andrew was the one that committed the crime because he was a person of color and they told him to put his hands up. The women died because of the loss of blood. Joanna tried to explain to the cops whatever happened, but they told her to keep her statement till she arrives at the precinct. Since there was no other witness or evidence, they assumed the wife was lying to save her husband and didn’t believe her. On Rebecca’s phone, there were pictures of Andrew and Joanna with her on it because they spent the second day of Coachella together. Rebbeca’s family was called in and they wanted strict justice for her, no matter the consequence. Joanna describes the man that stabbed Rebecca to the cops and they couldn’t find anyone of that sort that has a connection with Rebecca or her family.

Cops’ point of view

I was on my third cup of coffee when I and my partner heard on the dispatch radio of the incident; we were in the area, so we went to see what happened. When we arrived at the scene, I saw an African American holding a white woman in his arm and his hand was on the knife. So as every cop would do, I pulled out my gun and told the man to put his hands up. He is black so obviously; he committed the crime. He is probably in a gang and couldn’t help his urge to kill people. A woman started screaming at us saying her husband did nothing, it’s probably his baby momma she’s probably his accomplishment for hell’s sake. I called for backup and arrested both of them. All I can think about was the promotion I was going to get. 

Back to the story.     

             Since there was no one to convict, they charge Andrew with murder and his wife as an assistant in murdering Rebecca. Rebecca’s parents were wealthy, and they went to the maximum extent for Andrew to be punished by the death penalty. The Wright family did everything to prove their innocence, but since they were of color, most people didn’t believe them. Andrew was put on a lot of trials and the process took over 5 years and also, a lot of money was spent throughout the process that came from the government. In the end, Rebecca’s friend Angie recognized John Doe, and she stated that it was someone Rebecca met at Coachella and she was secretly meeting him. Andrew Wright and Joanna Wright was wrongfully convicted and put through the process of the death penalty just because of the injustice of the cops. Rebecca’s family was extremely disappointed in themselves and the police system. The Wright family ending up suing the family and the police department, Rebecca’s family didn’t fight back, and they accepted the consequences. The cop who made the arrest lost his job and couldn’t work for the government anymore, his partner was suspended for 2 years and the rest was put on probation. The Wright family ended up with 2 billion and they moved their little family to NYC and are currently living happily.