Jamal Trulove Survived Kamala Harris's San Francisco DA Office After Wrongful Murder Conviction and Prison
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Jamal Trulove Survived Kamala Harris's San Francisco DA Office After Wrongful Murder Conviction and Prison
Jamal Trulove never imagined he would be charged with his friend Seu Kuka's murder. Arrested without questioning, convicted on questionable witness testimony, and sentenced to life in prison, Trulove experienced what he calls "the closest thing to dying." Kamala Harris, then San Francisco's District Attorney, appeared in court twice during his case, at his conviction and sentencing. Years later, after his conviction was overturned and he won a $13.1 million settlement, Trulove reflects on the stark contrast between Harris's progressive prosecutor rhetoric and the reality he faced from her office. Growing up in Sunnydale Projects, he was already labeled by police as a potential criminal simply for where he lived. Now free, Trulove refuses to be defined by his wrongful conviction, pursuing his dreams as an actor, musician, and father while fighting for criminal justice reform.
Jamal Trulove never imagined facing murder charges for his friend Seu Kuka's death. "I never talked to no detective, no police officer, no D.A., nobody," he explains. "Just arrested and then charged. Arrested and charged—that's it." When people hear his story, they call it "the worst nightmare." For Trulove, it was "the closest thing to dying."
Kamala Harris's Presence at Pivotal Moments
During his trial, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris appeared in person twice—at the most critical junctures of his case. "She showed up at the two most pivotal times in this first trial in me being convicted and me being sentenced," Trulove recalls. "She wanted to be present for a celebration of a conviction." When asked if that's what it felt like, he responds without hesitation: "A celebration, that's what it felt like."
The Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality
In her book "The Truths We Hold," Kamala Harris wrote: "The job of a progressive prosecutor is to look out for those overlooked, to speak up for those whose voices aren't being heard, to see and address the causes of crime, not just their consequences, and to shine a light on the inequality and unfairness that lead to injustice. It is to recognize that not everyone needs punishment, that what many need, quite obviously, is help."
When asked if this sounded consistent with the justice he experienced from offices Harris ran, Trulove's answer is clear: "It definitely sounds like Kamala Harris right now as a senator, but at the time of her being the head District Attorney of San Francisco, that is almost polar opposite of what I felt and what our community felt in San Francisco."
Growing Up in Sunnydale Projects
Trulove takes us to Sunnydale Projects, where he was born and raised. "This isn't a place that you would want to bring outsiders into and a place that they don't want to go. This ain't a place that feels comfortable. It feels like you might get robbed, you might get shot."
From a young age, police kept files on Trulove, his brothers, and other Sunnydale residents. "They already had me labeled because I'm in this community as a potential gang member, potential killer, potential drug dealer. You got to wake up to the fact that, you know, things are set up against us."
When told there was a conspiracy against him, Trulove confirms: "Yes. There is a big—it happened to me. It was proven in court. Absolutely. Places like this have been developed for predominantly African American people to not be able to succeed beyond it."
Hope for a Black District Attorney
Trulove explains what the community thought when Harris became San Francisco's first Black District Attorney: "Nobody in the hood ever worried or focused on the D.A. position in general, but people did focus on it just a tad bit that it was Black and feeling like, 'Okay, this Black lady in office, Kamala Harris, she's going to understand where we come from', you know, and have more sympathetic way of prosecuting people that come from our communities who have been plagued with no opportunities."
He describes the historical context of his neighborhood: "This is Hunter's Point, where these different projects and communities used to really war with each other."
July 24, 2007: When Everything Changed
In July 2007, Trulove had recently appeared on the reality show "I Love New York." That's when his friend Seu Kuka was killed. More than a year passed with no arrests, and Trulove wasn't even questioned. "The police was still, you know, trying to get a conviction by all means necessary."
When he was finally arrested, "the community knew I didn't do it, and it was a, 'Here we go again. See, this is why we don't trust, you know, law enforcement' because it gets to a point where somebody who didn't do something goes to jail for it."
Trulove had no criminal history. "I don't have no history of crime. I have a history of being around in the community, but that doesn't mean that I'm a suspect." He expected to be released within 72 hours once authorities figured out their mistake.
The Evidence That Wasn't There
The evidence against Trulove was remarkably thin. "They had a woman saying that she seen me kill Seu. The second witness that they had really wasn't a witness at all. She said anything that the police officers wanted her to say, and they said that her recollection of the event was extremely credible, so that's what ultimately got the arrest warrant."
Harris's Strategic Court Appearances
District Attorney Kamala Harris appeared in Trulove's courtroom twice—both times at critical moments. "The two times that Kamala Harris showed up to my trial was the—when I got convicted and also when they laid down the sentencing."
Seeing her on verdict day felt ominous: "It felt to me that she was well aware about my case, and she was there to set her presence, almost take pride in getting a conviction."
The Attorney General's Office Fights His Appeal
When Trulove filed his appeal, he discovered who was fighting to keep his conviction intact: "The people that's fighting against my appeal to keep the conviction is the Attorney General office. I learned it reading, you know, their reply to my appeal, and you see Kamala Harris' name at the bottom, and now it's starting to feel a little personal."
The $13.1 Million Settlement
Trulove eventually won a $13.1 million settlement, but money couldn't restore what was taken. "There's not an amount that can get back those 7 years that—well, 6 1/2 years that I spent in prison."
Rather than dwelling on victimhood, Trulove chose a different path: "But instead of me coming home feeling like I was a victim, I wanted to prove that I'm a survivor, and I will not let my story go unheard."
Seeking Acknowledgment, Not Just Apology
Trulove isn't necessarily seeking an apology from Harris, but acknowledgment would mean something: "Some acknowledgment from her that she could have messed up would be—of course, that'd be huge. You could have made some mistakes. You could have missed some things. For me, it was a big miss. You know, I had life in prison."
Fighting for Reform and Living Beyond the Conviction
His time in prison opened his eyes to a broader problem: "I met people in prison that was wrongfully convicted. I want my story to be out to provoke reform, ultimately."
But Trulove refuses to let his wrongful conviction define him: "Beyond that, I want to be able to be who I want to be. I'm an actor, you know. I'm a musician. I'm a father. I'm more than this person that was framed. I'm more than this person that was wrongfully convicted."
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