Another Black Life Lost in Vain to the Prison-Industrial Complex

URL: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2023/07/02/woman-dies-travis-county-jail- Investigated-texas-rangers/11607963/07/

A Black Woman, Ayanna Lashawn Smith, Dies in Travis County Jail, Marking the Fourth In-Custody Death This Year.

AUSTIN — Yet another Black life has been tragically taken from us within the walls of the racist and oppressive carceral system. Ayanna Lashawn Smith, a 32-year-old Black woman from Austin, became unresponsive in her jail cell on Friday morning. Despite desperate attempts to revive her through CPR, Smith was pronounced dead at 10:02 a.m., leaving us to question the circumstances that led to this tragic and preventable loss.

"This is a devastating incident, and we offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends grieving the loss of Ayanna Lashawn Smith," a spokesperson for the prison said in a statement, which, I mean, really? Y'all killed her!

The traumatic incident marks the fourth in-custody death at the Travis County Jail this year, indicating a disturbing pattern that demands immediate attention and radical reform. Smith's life was cut short just three days after her arrest on charges of criminal trespass and a parole violation—a stark reminder of how the criminal justice system criminalizes and destroys Black lives for minor offenses.

While the exact cause of Smith's death remains unknown, the trauma inflicted by the prison-industrial complex cannot be ignored. The tragic reality is that Black individuals are disproportionately impacted by the carceral system, facing higher rates of arrest, harsher sentences, and deadly outcomes.

"They stole her future. They stole her dreams. They stole her," said a community activist who wishes to remain anonymous. "And for what? For being Black in the wrong place."

The Texas Rangers and the jail's criminal investigations division have launched an investigation into Smith's death, but we must ask: can we truly expect justice from the very system that took her life? The repeated failures and lack of accountability within the carceral system demand that we defund and dismantle these oppressive structures and reinvest in community-based solutions that uphold the dignity and worth of Black lives.

As we mourn the loss of Ayanna Lashawn Smith, let her story serve as a rallying cry for radical change. We cannot afford to lose another brilliant life to a system that devalues Black existence. May her memory fuel our activism and push us closer to a world where no one is caged, and every person has the opportunity to thrive.

Rest in power, Ayanna Lashawn Smith. The fight for justice bears your name forever.

URLs:

• https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2023/07/02/woman-dies-travis-county-jail-investigated-texas-rangers/11607963/