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Alicia Keys condemns grand jury’s decision on Breonna Taylor’s death: ‘There is no justice’

Keys believes the Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted a 'sickness' in the US (Getty)
Keys believes the Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted a 'sickness' in the US (Getty)

Alicia Keys has said it is “outrageous and completely unacceptable” that the police officers connected with the killing of Breonna Taylor have not been charged for their role in her death.

The singer told GQ Hype that “there is no justice, there is no regard for the life of a black woman who had an incredibly great future.”

On 23 September, Brett Hankison, one of the three officers who fired shots on the night of Taylor’s death, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment.

A Kentucky grand jury indicted Hankison for shooting into neighbouring apartments, but did not charge any officers for their role in Taylor’s death.

The state of Louisville announced a civil settlement providing Taylor’s family with $12m while promising police reforms, but the decision not to charge any of the three officers for their role in the death of the 26-year-old hospital worker has been met with widespread protests across America.

Keys is the latest celebrity to publicly condemn the grand jury’s decision, after the likes of Rihanna, George Clooney and Viola Davis have called for charges against the officers involved.

She said: “Breonna was essential to the workforce in Louisville and was a bright, shining star, ready to go higher. She deserves to be alive.”

“She deserves to be able to sleep in her bed and wake up the next morning and continue on with her life, and she deserves for the people who ended her life to be held accountable,” the R&B star added.

The "Fallin’" singer campaigned for justice for Taylor long before the grand jury hearing this month. She collaborated with rapper Rapsody and Taylor’s mother to create the “Do You Know What Happened To Breonna Taylor?” video campaign, which aimed to educate those who had not heard about the case and called for the officers to be charged.

In the GQ interview, Keys said: “Any justice system with laws that allow an innocent woman to be shot six times and be killed by police and no one is held accountable, is an unjust system.”

“This is why we continue to speak out. This is why we have to continually say Black Lives Matter and speak Breonna Taylor’s name so what was done will never be forgotten,” she added.

One of the tracks on the singer’s recently released album, Alicia, was written as a tribute to Michael Brown, Sandra bland and other victims of police brutality and harassment.

The grand jury decision has sparked widespread protests across AmericaGetty
The grand jury decision has sparked widespread protests across AmericaGetty

The song "Perfect Way To Die is told from the perspective of a mother whose son has been killed.

The singer has also recently announced plans to build a $1bn fund for black-owned businesses, which the NFL has pledged to help support.

Daniel Cameron, the attorney general who presented the case to the grand jury in Kentucky, recently urged people to keep protests peaceful.

“There will be celebrities, influencers and activists who having never lived in Kentucky will try to tell us how to feel, suggesting they understand the facts of this case, that they know our community and the Commonwealth better than we do, but they don’t,” he said, adding “let’s not give in to their attempts to influence our thinking or capture our emotions.”

But Keys believes the Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted a “sickness” in the US.

She said: “There's a sickness, a deeply rooted sickness and disregard for black lives, especially in positions that could terminate one's life.

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