On July 23, 2019, Robert Paul Cantrell was driven to suicide after months of false allegations and threats.
When Larry Woodruffe killed a 7-year-old girl in a drive-by shooting, the girl’s mother, LaPorsha Washington, announced that it was a “hate crime” and gave the police an incorrect description of the shooter, which led to a sketch resembling Robert. After an activist named Shaun King told his million Twitter followers that Robert – a “racist, violent asshole” according to Shaun – had killed the girl, Robert’s family began receiving death threats. For example, a message to his niece stated that “Someone is going to rape, torture and murder the women and children in your family.”
The harassment of Robert’s relatives continued even after the mistake was discovered and Larry was arrested. Ultimately, jail guards found Robert hanging in his cell one early morning.
