CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – “No justice! No rest. What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
Calls for justice rang out in the streets of Uptown Saturday afternoon in support of Shanquella Robinson. She was found dead under suspicious circumstances four months ago while vacationing with friends.
“You gotta be loud and you gotta be dramatic.”
‘Everybody extradited to Mexico.’ Shanquella Robinson’s sister speaks out
A group of Robinson’s loved ones and local activists like John C. Barnett marched from Little Rock A.M.E. Zion church to a local post office to mail hundreds of letters to Mexican authorities to demand justice for her death.
“I came up with the concept of using pink to send these letters over to Mexico. I thought it would be creative but yet it’s catching because when it drops into the police department in their mailbox.. other than the normal envelope being white this one is pink,” Barnett said.
Mexican officials said in November that Robinson’s death was being investigated as a homicide and that a warrant for one of the people on vacation with Robinson has been issued. Authorities have not released the name of the individual.
Officials also said that extradition from the U.S. to Mexico involves legal hurdles and could take time.
“So every time they see a pink envelope, they’re going to know that we’re trying to put pressure on them to execute the warrants to lock up these individuals. It’s been almost four months, the mother and the family need closure and it’s imperative that they lock them up,” he said.
Barnett says the next step is taking a trip to Mexico in hopes of speaking to authorities himself.
“I think that’s what it takes. If we collectively as a community, especially here in charlotte don’t stand up and put any pressure on Mexico to do anything then it’s just going to sit around as a cold case and we don’t want this to be a cold case,” Barnett said.
He believes America needs to work closely with Mexico and other countries to make sure justice is served. No update on an arrest has emerged, and multiple us authorities have intervened in the investigation, including the FBI.
