Kenosha, WI – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a #FreeChrystul rally at UW-Parkside on February 5 that saw 40 protesters attend. The demonstrators congregated outside the building where District Attorney Mike Graveley, Chrystul Kizer’s prosecutor, was teaching his first class of the spring semester, on criminal law.

The group began with chants that echoed across the campus thanks to the excellent acoustics between campus buildings. Coinciding with the start of the class period, speakers from different organizations and backgrounds shared their messages. These included Adelana Akindes, a leader with SDS; Annia Leonard, from Uplifting Black Liberation And Community (UBLAC); Michael Bell Sr., the father of Michael Bell, who was shot and killed by the Kenosha Police Department in 2004; and Devore Taylor, Chrystul’s mother.

Taylor said that Graveley “had evidence about not only Chrystul but a whole bunch of others. It wasn’t just her. And the fact it took for her to do something because she was tired of it.” She added, “He is trying to sweep the whole problem under the rug but it’s so much bigger than her.”

DA Graveley has doubled down on his rhetoric that Kizer is simply a cold-blooded killer and a menace to society, while simultaneously ignoring the truth about who Randall Volar III was: a pedophile and sex trafficker who profited from targeting young Black girls. Volar’s victims are numerous, as evidenced by his libraries of child pornography found on his computers that he produced. Graveley ignores this and intends to prosecute Kizer and to put her in prison for life.

“The system is racist. The system is sexist. The system is classist. So for Chrystul, a young black teenage girl, from a working-class family, the system cares the least about her and it shows,” said SDS leader Adelana Akindes. “The injustice is profound. Chrystul deserves justice. Chrystul deserves to live a free life. She deserves to heal from these atrocities.”

Kat Miller, rally emcee and SDS organizer, closed the speeches by reading aloud the letter written by the Harvard Law School National Lawyers Guild to DA Graveley condemning his conduct.

The demonstrators then marched to the doors of the hall in which Graveley was teaching a class not more than 100 feet away, chanting “Hey hey, ho ho! Graveley has got to go!” and “When Chrystul Kizer is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

In case Graveley could not hear or was attempting to ignore the protesters outside his classroom, SDS organizers plastered his classroom with flyers saying “Chrystul Kizer defended herself” and left copies of the Lawyers Guild letter on desks so that his students knew who was teaching their class. This was only the first among what is sure to be many actions on campus against DA Graveley as the students from SDS attempt to get him removed from teaching there.

At the pre-trial hearing on the morning of February 6, Graveley acted like someone who is feeling the heat from the masses of people who support the effort to free Chrystul. Her bail was reduced from the absurd sum of $1 million down to a still ridiculous $400,000. Her defense team is asking for it to be dropped to $100,000. SDS, the #HandsOffChrystul Committee, and all of Chrystul’s supporters have their eyes on March 16, which is the date of the first trial hearing.

#KenoshaWI #OppressedNationalities #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #ChrystulKizer #UWParksideSDS #FreeChrystul

Kenosha, WI – As the semester approaches, members of the UW-Parkside chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) have been hard at work. Kicking off the new year, SDS is leading a rally in support of the release of Chrystul Kizer, a Milwaukee teenager accused of killing her sex trafficker, Randall Volar III.

Upon learning that Kenosha’s district attorney, Michael Graveley, would be teaching a class at their campus, the students of the organization knew they had to act.

“I felt angry knowing that Graveley will be showing his face at Parkside,” said Lana Akindes, a member of SDS. “He’s proudly vouching for this child rapist and trafficker. He’s willing to put Chrystul in prison for life, like it’s nothing.”

Within recent months, activists rallying around Kizer’s case have seen a massive rise in support across the country including that of Cyntoia Brown, a woman who famously fought a similar case. However, with this swell of support, District Attorney Graveley has also taken to social media to express his beliefs and urge people to remain skeptical.

This unethical social media campaign has come to assert that Kizer was not a victim but rather a premeditated murderer. In a lengthy Facebook post, Graveley ends his statement with, “I cannot condone vigilante justice and when presented with evidence of premeditated murder, I do not believe it is appropriate for prosecutors to weigh the value of the victim's life.”

Graveley’s stand on social media has concerned many who support Kizer and even brought the attention of Harvard’s National Lawyers Guild. The organization criticized Graveley’s persistence on prosecuting the case as “bizarre” and “negligent.” They go on to encourage the DA “bring your conduct in line with professional standards.”

Graveley has also been criticized for insisting that safe harbor laws, which protect victims of sex crimes from being charged with murder or assault, do not apply to Kizer.

Though a 2016 winner of the Wisconsin District Attorney of the Year award, many are perceiving Graveley as unjustly pursuing a case that would set a precedent in Wisconsin to criminalize victims of abuse defending themselves against their perpetrators.

Despite Graveley’s persistence, activists with SDS and the #FreeChrystul Campaign continue to fight for her release. For those looking to show their support, SDS will be holding a rally at UW-Parkside’s student center on Wednesday, February 5, at 5:30 p.m., directly outside where Graveley will be teaching his first class of the semester. Kizer’s next court date will also be held on Thursday, February 6 at 8:45 a.m. at the Kenosha County courthouse.

#KenoshaWI #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #KenoshaSDS #ChrystulKizer #UWParksideSDS

Only 17 years old at the time of the incident, Kizer’s case is incredibly similar to Cyntoia Brown’s. Even more concerning is the fact that they were young, Black teenagers, charged with killing older white males who had sexually assaulted them.

At the time of his death, Kizer’s perpetrator was under investigation for child pornography, sexual conduct with minors and human trafficking. Kizer's attorney, Carl Johnson, filed a motion to gain access to that evidence; evidence that includes explicit videos and photos of Kizer and other young girls.

Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. It involves coercion, power and control, and often physical and sexual violence. Over half of suspected victims of trafficking are Black women and girls. Brown and Kizer were both under the age of 18 when these incidents occurred.

Kizer’s most recent court hearing on September 6 at the Kenosha County Courthouse was a push by her defense team to reduce her unreasonably high $1 million bond. Her legal team argued once again that there was overwhelming evidence that Volar III was a rapist, pedophile and sex trafficker. They urged the court to consider that Chrystul was a victim, protecting herself against further harm.

Prosecuting attorney Gravely attacked Kizer’s prior felony record as well as condemning the defense’s strategy of using coercion due to human trafficking. Gravely felt that this would lead to a dangerous precedent, where “serial killers” could use this defense to get away with murdering many people.

Although Judge Wilk did not engage with Gravely’s arguments, he did deny Chrystul’s bond reduction, stating that she has “no ties to the community” as well as citing her past record.

Members of UW-Parkside Students for a Democratic Society in Kenosha have been fixtures at Chrystul's pre-trial hearings over the last several months. The result of this session was a hard one for all of her supporters to swallow.

“Knowing our criminal justice system, I fear the jury’s verdict,” said Ethan Costello, a leader with SDS. “This system is not forgiving to Black and brown women, as it has always been for white men.”

Kizer will remain in prison until her trial in March 2020. A court hearing to discuss the defense’s use of Wisconsin State Statute will be held this November 15. Join her supporters and pack the courtroom to demand justice for Chrystul Kizer!

#KenoshaWI #StudentMovement #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #KenoshaSDS #ChrystulKizer #JusticeForChrystulKizer