Thursday, May 9, 9am-12noon, Franklin County Municipal Court, 375 S. High St.

Activists will hold support for 17-year-old Masonique Saunders by rallying outside of the Franklin County Courthouse, demanding her immediate release and freedom from all of her charges.

On May 9, Masonique Saunders, a teenager, will have her long-awaited hearing to determine if she will be tried as an adult for felony murder charges. Saunders was arrested for felony murder six days after Columbus Police shot and killed her boyfriend, Julius Tate Jr., while both Tate and Saunders were both sixteen years of age. Originally scheduled for early February, this hearing comes after Saunders has sat in juvenile detention center for over five months. While the court proceedings are happening, activists will rally outside of the courthouse to display support and solidarity for Masonique.

Byron Potts, Tate’s family’s attorney, has previously explained that he has a sworn affidavit from a witness whose testimony contradicts the police’s narrative of what happened on the night Officer Eric Richards murdered Tate. Furthermore, given that Saunders was a witness to the murder and could testify, the six-day lag between the murder and her arrest indicates an intentional decision on behalf of the police and Prosecutor Ron O’Brien to pivot the blame onto a teenager. If the courts determine that she cannot be tried as a youth, her case is thrown out, as felony murder charges cannot be held against youth.

This rally is one of many actions where the Coalition to Free Masonique, along with many other community members, will hold space to demand that she be released, all charges against her dropped, and that Officer Eric Richards be indicted for murdering Julius Tate Jr.

Contact: Dkéama Alexis, freemasonique@gmail.com or 404-924-0667