Rodney King, whose brutal 1992 beating by LA cops set off an era-defining race riot, will marry one of the jurors on his trial.
Gotta love a story of justice and redemption. According to Radar Online, Rodney King will marry Cynthia Kelley, a member of the jury in the civil suit he filed against the city of LA after his brutal beating by police.
Apparently Cynthia, the only black member of the jury according to Newser, had to fight for a fair settlement against and otherwise white jury still somehow hardened and complacent after King’s beating:
“The other jurors said, ‘Let’s just award him $100,000, you know he’s just gonna blow it anyway,’” Kelley told Radar.
Kelley fought for a fair price, and eventually passed succeeding in clearing $3.8 million. Lucky, too, as a $100,000 settlement would likely have sparked a whole new set of riots, rightly so.
Hopefully the money has been invested well, and Kelly will now get to share in the fruits of her efforts on on the stand. It’s safe to say this is the first time in the hisotry of the American justice system that actually showing up for jury duty has really paid off.
