Vigil for coach Samuel Jackson sparks calls for stricter ride-share safety measures
HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. (WGXA) — The wife of a murdered former university basketball coach is demanding action after she says the criminal justice system, as well as a lack of specific rideshare app policies to prohibit convicted criminals with history of violent offences, ultimately lead to him being killed while working as an Uber driver.
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Friends and family continued to grieve Samuel Jackson, a former university basketball coach killed while working as an Uber driver during a vigil held Wednesday night outside Harvest Church in Byron.
Jackson, known as Sammie, or coach Jackson, to those who knew him, lived in Byron. Among the schools he coached, Fort Valley State University.
The Atlanta Police Department discovered Jackson’s lifeless body shot and discarded on a dead-end street January 29; three days after his wife reported him missing in Houston County. Following the vigil, Jill Jackson, now a widow, is calling for action.
“I feel the justice system did an injustice; allowed him back into society to kill, to continue robbing people. I’m really hoping that this will bring awareness to these companies that they have to do background checks on the passengers.”
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30-year-old Iquane Brown, already convicted of several armed robberies, as well as a prison escape, is charged with Jackson’s murder.
“I feel the justice system did an injustice; allowed him back into society to kill, to continue robbing people. I’m really hoping that this will bring awareness to these companies that they have to do background checks on the passengers.”
Jackson originally from Alabama, served as head basketball coach at Fort Valley State University from 2011 to 2018. His wife last saw him before he left home to drive for the rideshare app, Uber, on January 26.
