Washington (CNN) More than 1,000 current and former professional athletes have signed a letter to Congress calling for the end of qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that the athletes say is shielding law enforcement from accountability. "When police officers kill an unarmed man, when they beat a woman, or when they shoot a child, the people of this country must have a way to hold them accountable in a court of law," the letter, released by the Players Coalition on Wednesday reads. "A legal system that does not provide such a recourse is an illegitimate one." In recent years, legal scholars, judges and justices on all sides of the ideological spectrum have criticized the legal doctrine known as "qualified immunity," arguing that it is not grounded in the proper legal authorities and too often shields officials from accountability. Widespread protests across the country have called for codified change in how the law treats the black community.

Source: CNN June 10, 2020 19:30 UTC