URGENT: WE NEED YOUR HELP to get Clemency for Kevin

1. SIGN THE NEW PETITION requesting clemency. DEADLINE JUNE 15.

2. WRITE A LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR requesting clemency. DEADLINE JUNE 15. Email your letter to letters@j4ke.org

IF YOU ALREADY WROTE A SUPPORT LETTER for his trial/sentencing, THANK YOU! Simple edits/updates to that letter should suffice for the clemency request to Governor Newsom.

At top of letter include the date, your full name, address, phone, and email. You may add a title: “Letter of Support for Kevin Epps.” Open with: “Dear Governor Newsom”

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST SUPPORT LETTER FOR KEVIN, here is guidance for a letter that will be helpful in the clemency effort.

Include the date, your full name, address, phone, and email and top of letter. Include the title “Letter of Support for Kevin Epps.” Open with: “Dear Governor Newsom.”

In your letter, you might address some of the following subjects, or anything else that might occur to you as being important:

1. How long you have known Kevin;
2. In what capacity you have known him (for example, friend, employer, employee, past or present business associate, relative, community activist, etc.);
3. What your impressions are as to his general character and what type of person he is. (You might think of some specific examples of Kevin’s conduct that show good character);
4. The contributions he has made to his family and his community;
If you knew Kevin both before and after these charges were filed in 2019 (following the incident in 2016), what changes, if any, have you noticed in his personality and attitude;
5. Whether you feel he is and can continue to be a productive and law-abiding citizen and member of the community;
6. Please also make any general comments about Kevin that you feel might be informative for the governor.


Q: Who is Kevin Epps?


A: Father, friend, award-winning filmmaker, award-winning executive editor of legacy SF newspaper, De Young Museum Artist Fellow, journalist, author, mentor to youth, beloved community leader and on and on. Read full bio.


Danny Glover: Rudy Corpuz of United Playaz, Amos Brown & Devon Crawford of Third Baptist Church, Jonathan Butler, NAACP SF Chapter President, Yolanda Williams, Retired SFPD captain, VP NAACP SF Chapter
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi!
Congresswoman Lateefah Simon
Former Congresswoman and current Oakland Mayor, Barbara Lee.
Former Mayor London Breed, CA State Controller Malia Cohen
Kevin with his children
Kevin receives the 2025 Silver Heart award from the Society of Professional Journalists
Reverend Amos Brown of Third Baptist Church where Kevin is a member and attends weekly with his children.
I first met Kevin when he was working on his documentary and I was in the state legislature . . . Kevin was always gracious and professional in our interactions. I found him to be gentle, honest, empathetic and community minded.”

Former State Senator, Mark Leno 12/1/2

LATEST NEWS

-> Full archive of media coverage on trial and Kevin’s award-winning work

SF Filmmaker Kevin Epps Convicted of Manslaughter, Not Murder, in 2016 Shooting (12/15/25)
KQED

S.F. filmmaker Kevin Epps beats murder charge, gets manslaughter
MISSION LOCAL

Murder Trial of SF Filmmaker Kevin Epps Will Swing on Question of Self-Defense (12/9/25)
KQED

Kevin Epps: ‘Felon With a Gun’ or Community Asset? (12/9/25)
American Community Media

Emotions run high in closing arguments for S.F. filmmaker’s murder trial (12/9/25)
Mission Local

LISTEN: Reviving a Case, Erasing the Truth: The Case Against Kevin Epps (12/5/25)
Hard Knock Radio KPFA


(Interview begins at 5:00)


Stand with Kevin Epps: A Black Historian on Trial for Murder (12/4/25)
San Francisco Bay View

In Epps Trial, Concerns Over Prosecutorial Misconduct and Political Agendas (11/27/25)
SAN DIEGO VOICE AND VIEWPOINT

Justice for Kevin Epps, San Francisco’s Native Son
SF Bay View

Supporters Rally for SF Filmmaker Kevin Epps, on Trial for Murder After 2016 Shooting
KQED

PRESS RELEASES

12/14 Statement from Justice 4 Kevin Epps Following the Verdict

12/9 Supporters declare PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT :: Defense moves for MISTRIAL during closing arguments


12/8 Actor DANNY GLOVER Attends Rally for Kevin Epps with NAACP, Clergy, Community Leaders

12/4 PROSECUTION OF KEVIN EPPS FALTERS



  • Kevin with his children
  • With Speaker Pelosi, Nov. 2025
  • On set with “Uncle Danny” Glover
  • Rebecca Gallegos
  • Kevin receives the 2025 Silver Heart award from the Society of Professional Journalists
  • Former Congresswoman and current Oakland Mayor, Barbara Lee.
  • Reverened Amos Brown at Third Baptist Church
  • Kevin’s mother and friends.
  • Congresswoman Lateefah Simon
  • Danny Glover: Rudy Corpuz of United Playaz, Amos Brown & Devon Crawford of Third Baptist Church, Jonathan Butler, NAACP SF Chapter President, Yolanda Williams, Retired SFPD captain, VP NAACP SF Chapter

JUSTICE 4 KEVIN EPPS

WHO IS KEVIN EPPS?

Kevin Epps is a devoted father, award-winning filmmaker, award-winning executive editor of the San Francisco Bay View, journalist, author and beloved community leader.



His widely-acclaimed documentaries Straight Outta Hunter’s Point (2003) and Straight Outta Hunters Point 2 (2012) are unflinching portraits of systemic neglect and structural racism in one of San Francisco’s most marginalized neighborhoods, depicting how residents have navigated poverty, policing and urban redevelopment.

In 2005, Kevin worked with Academy Award winning director, Spike Lee on Sucker Free City, a film shot in Kevin’s home neighborhood. Kevin’s Rap Dreams (2006) chronicles the dreams and the heartbreaks of Bay Area rappers. The Black Rock (2010) documents the previously untold piece of Alcatraz history, the stories of its segregated black inmates. Kevin also authored the compelling companion book The Black Rock: The Darkside of Alcatraz. His 2008 piece for CurrentTV, “Popped in Oakland” won the Telly Award.

For the last two years, he has been the Executive Editor of the San Francisco Bay View legacy black national newspaper. This month he received the prestigious 2025 Silver Heart Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

SPJ NorCal lauded Kevin for revitalizing and stabilizing one of the Bay Area’s last Black-owned newspapers, “reconnecting it to the people it serves” and “ensuring that it remains a vital platform for truth.” They praised him for “amplifying voices often ignored, while mentoring young writers and artists” and said, “his leadership has saved a treasured institution and strengthened the heartbeat of Black media in San Francisco.”

Kevin was a De Young Museum Artist Fellow and has served on the boards of the San Francisco Black Film Festival, the Bay Area Black Journalists Association, and Conscious Youth Media Crew. He has served on panel discussions for film (SF International Film Festival, SF Black Film Festival) and community issues alongside legendary cultural figures (Danny Glover) and elected officials (SF Mayor London Breed).

Kevin’s work has earned nationwide and international attention. Publications who have interviewed him/covered his work and life include the Guardian, Variety, KQED, KRON, KPIX, XLR8R, Script, SF Chronicle, SFGate, SF Examiner, San Diego Voice and Viewpoint, California Black Media, SFist, American Community Media, and many more.

Kevin is an active member of the historic and vital SF hub of faith and community resilience, Third Baptist Church, and attends weekly with his children.



Kevin receives the 2025 Silver Heart award from the Society of Professional Journalists

FROM SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS NORCAL 11/13/25

“Kevin Epps receives this year’s Silver Heart Award. When the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper was on the brink of closure, Epps stepped in as executive editor to stabilize it, revitalize the newsroom and reconnect it to the people it serves. He brought fresh energy, multimedia storytelling and digital innovation to one of the Bay Area’s last Black-owned newspapers, ensuring that it remains a vital platform for truth. Through journalism and film, including his groundbreaking documentary, “Straight Outta Hunters Point,” Epps amplifies voices often ignored, while mentoring young writers and artists. His leadership has saved a treasured institution and strengthened the heartbeat of Black media in San Francisco.”

Former SF Supervisors John Avalos and Dean Preston sign on to community character statement. Dean adds a personal note.

“I got to know Kevin first through films and then while I was in office, through his community leadership.

Kevin Epps is an invaluable asset to our community. As an award-winning filmmaker and Executive Editor of the SF Bay View National Black Newspaper, he has amplified voices and stories that are all too often ignored. He has earned the gratitude, admiration, and respect of countless people across San Francisco and the Bay Area. He is a committed and loving father to his children and son to his mother. No good can come by removing Kevin from the lives of his family and from his vital work in the community.”

Dean Preston, former SF Supervisor



SIGN THE PETITION


District Attorney Brooke Jenkins:

For nearly a decade, San Francisco filmmaker and journalist Kevin Epps has lived under the shadow of a prosecution that never should have happened.

In 2016, a violent intruder and registered sex offender under the influence of methamphetamine barged unlawfully into Kevin’s home where he lived with his partner and two young children. Fearing for his life and the safety of his family . . .
Continue reading and sign

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