KFAL The Big 900 Classic Country
Columbia resident Shaunda Hamilton is the founder of Boone County Community Against Violence. She formed it after her daughter, 18-year-old Nadria Wright, was shot to death in 2019 after leaving the McDonald’s on the Business Loop, where she had picked up a milk shake. Ms. Hamilton joined 939 the Eagle’s Fred Parry in-studio for the hour on Saturday morning’s “CEO Roundtable.” She says after suspect Javion Lawhorn was arrested for murder, she went to every court appearance but was shocked to learn in March 2021 that Lawhorn had entered an Alford plea to first degree involuntary manslaughter and second degree assault and had been sentenced to seven years in prison, with credit for time served. An Alford plea is essentially a guilty plea in which the defendant maintains innocence, but admits that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict at trial. Ms. Hamilton tells listeners that her daughter was studying nursing at Columbia College, with the dream of becoming a nurse. She says residents at Columbia’s Solstice Senior Living loved her daughter. Nadria worked there. She emphasizes that her daughter was not the intended target that night, and that another man was shot but not killed. Hamilton encourages you to volunteer for her organization, saying it’s about families and learning to “stop the bleeding” when it comes to gunshot wounds. She also tells listeners that the Boone County prosecutor’s office did NOT inform her about the Alford plea in 2021. 939 the Eagle’s Fred Parry criticized former Boone County assistant prosecutor Morley Swingle, during the emotional interview:
