Rihanna, Jay-Z among celebrities demanding justice for 'DJ' Henry

Rihanna, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Odell Beckham Jr. are just some of the celebrities who sent a letter to the attorney general this week, urging the Department of Justice to look at new evidence.

News 12 Staff

Jul 15, 2020, 10:39 AM

Updated 1,550 days ago

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Some big celebrities are demanding justice for a Pace University student who was killed by police in 2010.
Rihanna, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Odell Beckham Jr. are just some of the celebrities who sent a letter to the attorney general this week, urging the Department of Justice to look at new evidence.
They're urging them to reopen the case of Danroy “DJ” Henry.
Henry and college classmates were in a car outside a Thornwood bar back in 2010, when a fight broke out involving other patrons. 
As Henry tried to leave the scene in his car, he hit Pleasantville Police Officer Aaron Hess. 
Hess wound up on the hood of the car and fired four shots at Henry and injured a friend. 
 While no criminal charges were filed, a separate civil lawsuit was settled for $6 million with the Village of Pleasantville, and the Town of Mount Pleasant made a $250,000 contribution to the DJ Henry Dream Fund. Hess was never charged.
The Westchester District Attorney's Office stated that "the case could only be reopened if new evidence is discovered.  At this time, there are no plans by this office to reopen the case."

Attorney Michael Sussman is representing Henry's family and says they feel a re-evaluation of the evidence would demonstrate that there was an unjustified killing of an unarmed man and that it needs to be dealt with. 
They are calling on New York's attorney general to review a grand jury presentation that cleared Hess.
"There are no statute of limitations for murder, there is no statute of limitations for fraud," says Sussman.
The student government at the Pace Pleasantville campus is planning a memorial for the 10th anniversary of Henry's death, as well as a week of activities dedicated to social justice and police brutality.
The letter to the U.S. Attorney General is also calling on the Justice Department to determine if a pattern of discrimination played a role in the case.