
A California man who spent years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit says he can’t forget how Kamala Harris, then a prosecutor, reacted when he was wrongly convicted.
Jamal Trulove, who was later cleared of murder charges, claims Harris laughed at him in court when the guilty verdict was read. Trulove described the moment in a recent interview, saying, “We locked eyes this one time, and she laughed. She literally just, like, kind of busted out laughing.”
Trulove was sentenced to 50 years for a murder he didn’t commit. He spent six years in prison before being cleared in a 2015 retrial. San Francisco later paid him $13.1 million to settle a lawsuit over his wrongful conviction.
The case has raised questions about Harris’s record as a prosecutor. Critics point to this incident as an example of what they see as her overzealous approach to prosecutions.
Lara Bazelon, a former director at Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent, has criticized Harris for fighting to uphold convictions even when evidence of innocence emerged. “Ms. Harris fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct,” Bazelon stated.
Trulove’s civil case revealed that police officers had fabricated evidence and withheld important information. A jury found that two homicide detectives had violated Trulove’s civil rights.
As Harris campaigns for reelection as vice president, this case continues to cast a shadow over her law enforcement record. Trulove has said he plans to support former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.