Jailed Detroit mother, activist who waved gun released pending appeal

Fiona Kelliher | Detroit Free Press

A community activist and mother has been granted release pending an appeal after her controversial sentencing last year.

Siwatu-Salama Ra, 26, is appealing two felonious assault and firearm convictions from March, according to the Detroit Metro Times. A Wayne County Circuit Court judge agreed to release her on Wednesday while that process moves forward.

Ra, a Detroit resident, was sentenced to two years in prison for what she and her family say was self-defense: waving a registered, unloaded gun at an acquaintance who was attempting to hit her with a car.

She was pregnant when her sentence began this spring and gave birth to her second child while imprisoned.

More: Does this mother belong in prison? | Opinion

In the Detroit community, Ra is a well-known environmental activist and co-director of the East Michigan Environmental Action Council. Her case has caused an uproar among advocates in Detroit, who say her callous treatment highlights the racism and inequity of the criminal justice system.

Ra's release from Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility will reportedly move ahead within the next few days. The Court of Appeals could take up her case sometime in December, the Metro Times said.

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