Joy Powell

About

Religious leader and community activist known for her fights against gang violence and police injustice. In 2006 she was arrested for burglary. In 2009, while in prison, she was arrested for second-degree murder of James Rutledge that happened in 1992. 

Before Fame

She was the leader of a Pentecostal church in Rochester, New York. In 1995, she claims she was raped by a corrections officer, and when the police refused to investigate, she held activist rallies to bring awareness of police brutality and injustice. 

Trivia

There has been a movement and website calling for her release from prison called Free Joy Powell. 

Family Life

She has a son named Terrell Blake who died in 2018 after a shootout with the police. 

Associated With

She wrote a short article in 2020 about the death of George Floyd.