The murder of Jamiel Shaw II occurred on March 2, 2008, in

Arlington Heights, Los Angeles Arlington Heights is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. History Origin In July 1904, the Los Angeles Evening Express reported the sale of a sixty acre tract known as Arlington Heights for the price of $75,000. The parcel fron ...

, California. Shaw, a 17-year-old

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a publ ...

football player, was shot by two

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

men while returning home from the

Beverly Center The Beverly Center is a shopping mall in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is an eight-story structure located near the West Hollywood, California, West Hollywood border but within Los Angeles city limits, bounded by Beverly Boulevard, ...

. Shaw was taken to a hospital, where he later died. A gang member, Pedro Espinoza, was later apprehended and convicted of the murder. Because Espinoza was an

illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

who had just been released from jail, the shooting sparked controversy and political debate over

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

' status as a

sanctuary city A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law. Proponents of sanctuary cities cite motives such as reducing the fear of persons which illegally immigrated fr ...

, and over Special Order 40.

Backgrounds

Jamiel Shaw II

Jamiel "Jas" Andre Shaw, II (December 22, 1990 – March 2, 2008) was a junior at

. He played football, basketball, baseball, the piano, and ran track. On the morning of his murder, he had participated in a weekend football training program that prepares top high school football players for college football and a possible career in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. Shaw was also being prospected by several colleges, including

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Shaw's mother Anita was serving her second tour in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

at the time of his death.

Pedro Espinoza

Pedro Espinoza (born 1989) was a member of the

18th Street Gang The 18th Street Gang, also known as , , , or simply in North America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Culture of Mexico, Mexican) street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest street gangs in Los Angeles, with around 30 ...

and was residing in the U.S. illegally. He had previously been arrested in November 2007 on gun charges and assault on a police officer. He was given a four-month early release from jail on March 1, 2008. He murdered Shaw the next day. A day after Shaw's murder, Espinoza reported to his probation officer.

Shooting

In the early evening of March 2, 2008, Shaw returned home from the

. He was walking from the bus stop when his father, Jamiel Sr., called him on his phone. Shaw answered the phone and told him he was nearby. He was three blocks away from his home when he was killed. At about 8:40 p.m., two Hispanic men jumped out of a white car, confronted Shaw, and asked him what gang he belonged to. When he did not answer quickly enough, they shot him. Shaw's father heard the gunshots, ran outside, and stayed by his son until medical personnel arrived. Shaw was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:55 p.m. Shaw was first shot in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. While he was on the ground with his hands over his head, he was shot through his hands, with the bullet then traveling into his face. Within an hour of Shaw's murder, Espinoza was found in a park by a

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

police officer unaware of the shooting. Because the park was closed, he was told to leave. The officer wrote down the license plate number of his vehicle and later shared it with the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

. Espinoza was later arrested.

Legal proceedings

Espinoza was formally charged with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

. He was convicted on May 9, 2012. The guilty verdict also included special circumstances, which made Espinoza eligible for the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. On May 23, 2012, the jury sentenced Espinoza to death.

Lawsuit

In 2009, the Shaw family filed a

wrongful death Wrongful death is a type of legal claim or cause of action against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as authorized by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are ...

lawsuit against

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

and Sheriff

Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (born May 27, 1942) is a former American law enforcement officer and convicted felon who served as the 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from 1998 to 2014. In 2017, he was convicted of felony obstruction of justice ...

. The suit also alleged negligence, violation of the

Immigration and Nationality Act The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act may refer to one of several acts including: * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 * Immigration Act of 1990 The Immigration Act of 1990 () was signed into la ...

, and deprivation of civil rights. In 2010, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles F. Palmer determined that the defendants were legally immune from the action, and dismissed the lawsuit.

Funeral

Shaw's funeral was held on March 11, 2008, at the

West Angeles Church of God in Christ West Angeles Church of God in Christ is a Pentecostal megachurch located in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, and a member of the Church of God in Christ. History It was founded by Elder Clarence E. Church in 1943. The first sanctuary was ...

Reaction

Shaw's murder sparked criticism and political debate over Los Angeles'

policy and Special Order 40, which aimed to strengthen community safety by disallowing local officials from questioning a resident's immigration status, thus enabling local victims of crime to file reports without fear of deportation. In rapper

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

's music video " Why Me?", the Jamiel Shaw case is prominently featured.

Jamiel's Law

In response to the controversy, the Shaw family supports "Jamiel's Law," which would rescind Special Order 40. Mayoral candidate Walter Moore campaigned as a supporter of this initiative. An attempt to get this proposal onto the May 2009 election ballot failed when supporters did not gather enough signatures.

Reaction from victim's family

Shaw's parents became supporters of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

. Shaw Sr. was featured in a Trump television advertisement, and spoke at several Trump rallies.

References

External links

www.JamielShaw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Jamiel 2008 controversies in the United States Shaw, Jamiel 2008 in Los Angeles Murder in Los Angeles Shaw, Jamiel Political controversies in the United States Protests in the United States March 2008 crimes in the United States Illegal immigration to the United States Child murder in California