Latilia Shaniece Hicks
Sentenced To LIFE IN PRISION
for a Crime That She Did Not Commit!
She did not murder anyone, she did not assist anyone with the crime of murder, nor did she have a criminal record. She had no knowledge that a murder would occur, yet sentenced to life in prison without parole for thirty years. On 3/25/08 she was found guilty of felony murder although she was not on the scene when the murder occurred.
How did this happen? How could she be found guilty of murder even though she was not on the scene when the murder occurred? It's the law. The felony murder rule law states that any death, which occurs during the commission or attempt to commit certain felonies, is first-degree murder and all participants in the felony can be held equally culpable, including those who did no harm, possessed no weapon, and did not intend to hurt anyone. Even if, during the commission of the underlying felony, death occurs from fright, for instance heart attack; it is still first-degree murder.
Ask yourself this question...If you had friends or associates that were involved in certain activities without your knowledge or consent, and you were asked to pick them up from the location of a crime that you did not know occurred, should you then be held accountable? Well, Latilia was held accountable and found guilty under the felony murder law. GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION!
Latilia is a Sanford, FL resident and the daughter of Lovely Beamon and the late Ricardo Hicks. She is a single mother of two, Eric who is eight and Tailia who is six. Latilia was a student at the University of Central Florida with two semesters away from completing her bachelors in legal studies with a minor in criminal justice. She was also a scholar with the UCF McNair Scholar Program. (http://www.mcnair.ucf.edu/03-04.html)
In addition to her education, Latilia was also involved in many other productive activities from modeling and poetry reading. She recently performed over the holidays in the “The Chocolate Nutcracker†at the Bob Carr auditorium and she appeared in the benefit production of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologuesâ€, a play that benefited rape victims.
How You Can Help?
Latilia will need an appellate attorney to appeal her charges. The cost for a case of this magnitude is high.
1. Please pray for Latilia and her family.
2. Please contribute what you can! Donations are needed.
3. A contribution fund for Latilia’s case has been set up at Wachovia Bank. Deposits into this account can be made to Denise Reaves/co Latilia Hicks Contribution Fund.
Please contact Denise Reaves at
[email protected] or Joseph Beamon at 407-321-7945 for additional information.
