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Kalief Browder‘s story made such an impact on the world that Jay Z is doing a series about him — unfortunately he or his devoted mother aren’t alive to experience it.

According to reports, Venida Browder, the mother of the Bronx man who killed himself after spending three years on Rikers Island has died from complications of a heart attack. The 63-year-old died on Friday, just a year after her son hanged himself with an air conditioning cord following his stint in prison.

Her lawyer said in a statement, “She was a woman of incredible grace and compassion who tirelessly fought for justice for her son Kalief and who championed the civil rights of others in our city. But the stress from this crusade coupled with the strain of the pending lawsuits against the city and the pain from the death were too much to for her to bear. In my opinion she literally died of a broken heart.”

Kalief did three years in prison after being falsely accused of robbing a teen of his backpack when he was just 16 years old back in May 2010. Chilling video footage of Browder’s mistreatment in jail has been making it’s rounds on the Internet for years, causing people to speak out against police and for prison reform.

Just earlier this month, Jay Z announced that he’d be producing a docu-series about the fallen teen, which is set to air on Spike TV in January. Rest in peace to Venida Browder.

Source: NY Daily News |PHOTOCREDIT: Getty 

Heartbreaking: Kalief Browder’s Mother Dies Of A Broken Heart  was originally published on globalgrind.com