when the system fails: Injustice. Two Saturdays. two deaths.

Today marks four years since Billy died, April 10, 2021. He was released from jail just four days before, where he had served time for trespassing. Before being incarcerated, Billy developed a wound on his leg and begged for medical care while in jail. He never received it. Two days after release, he walked into the ER with sepsis, renal failure, and an advanced infection. He died two days later, on a Saturday night.

Almost exactly three years later, in March of 2024, we lost someone else we loved on a Saturday night. Amy was a sweet country girl with a Tennessee accent that made everything she said sound like a song. She was kind. She was part of our outreach family. Amy died just two hours after receiving food and conversation and community and love from our team. She had just left one of our Saturday night outreaches when she was hit and killed by a driver who fled the scene, hid for months, and even tried to alter the vehicle to cover it up. 

Now, we’re learning that the woman who killed Amy is likely taking a plea deal she was offered by the state. Six months in jail—three of which she’s already served—and probation.

Billy got a year for trespassing, which also ended up being a death sentence from lack of care.. Amy’s killer is getting six months for taking a life and running.

What does justice mean when this is how it plays out? How are people who are poor, homeless, or struggling with addiction treated as if their lives are worth less? It is hard not to feel like our people are invisible. Disposable. Punished more harshly for surviving than others are for destroying.

This is not just unfair—it’s heartbreaking and infuriating. The systems that are supposed to protect and serve are failing people who are vulnerable, poor, and often unseen by society. Billy deserved medical care. He deserved dignity and a chance to heal. Amy deserves justice. A hit-and-run that results in death should not be treated with a slap on the wrist.

There’s something deeply broken when the lives of the unhoused are treated as disposable, and when punishment for property crimes like trespassing outweighs consequences for actions that actually take a life. A year for trespassing. Six months for killing someone, hiding out and altering the vehicle. It’s painful and it’s enraging....and it’s not okay.

We’re witnessing systemic injustice firsthand, and it’s personal to us, to Amy's family and many other families. 

Billy and Amy were friends—sharing a powerful and heartbreaking connection, two Southern souls who found each other in the struggle of homelessness and becoming friends. Amy told us many stories about Billy and herself. They both died on a Saturday night. Billy died alone in a hospital. Amy died in the shadows of the very outreach that loved them both and began because of losing Billy. We believe they are together somewhere. They were both loved. And they both mattered. 

Today we have an IMPORTANT CALL TO ACTION FOR OUR ARIZONA SUPPORTORS!

We only have a short amount of time before sentencing. The next court date on April 24, 2025, will possibly be the last one. We are asking Arizona residents to call, email or write the State representative in your district (each district has 2 Representatives). Find your two according to your address. Contact both!! Also, please contact both of our State Senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

Also, please contact our County Attorney, Rachel Mitchell at Maricopa County Attorney's Office. (rmitchell@maricopacountyattorney.org)