All Bush & Co has done is accelerate on a wide variety of fronts what’s been happening for a long time at all levels of government. We’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re better because a piece of 200+ year old paper says we are. So off with you now to your hacked voting machines to vote for the best person available to fill the job of governing us while stories like these just keep rolling on since forever.
Scales of justice can swing wildly
First came the poor man, barely 17 years old – too young to buy beer or vote, but an adult under the Texas penal code. He took part in a $2 stickup in which no one got hurt. He pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was put on 10 years of probation.
He broke the rules once, by smoking marijuana. A Dallas judge responded in the harshest possible way: He replaced the original sentence with a life term in prison.
[…]
Now the flip side of the coin, also from Judge Keith Dean’s court: A well-connected man pleaded guilty to murder – for shooting an unarmed prostitute in the back – and also got 10 years of probation.The killer proceeded to break the rules by, among other things, smoking crack cocaine. He repeatedly failed drug tests. He was arrested for cocaine possession in Waco while driving a congressman’s car, but prosecutors there didn’t press charges.
Judge Dean has let this man stay free and, last year, exempted him from most of the usual conditions of probation.
Take a guess which was white and which was black.
The more things change, the more they stay the same! The America in our hearts is a Utopian ideal that only exists for those with the right connections and circumstance (and then only tenuously lest they fall out of favor). Somewhere behind the curtain are the men who pull the strings and levers, outside here we only catch a glimpse of their chicanery. It’s too often, too embarrassing to be a white person in this country.
I don’t often Comment separate from the Posts I offer; but, Uncle Dave’s Post describes exactly the sort of day-to-day event that characterizes the history of our nation — and it’s not PC to talk about it, anymore. At least, not among the ethically-challenged who rule our nation.
No need to relate the several incidents that prompted a 21-year-old Eideard and a couple of his friends and co-workers who happened to be Black to clamber into a Volkwagen bus full of Yalies — and journey down to a small town 50 miles from Washington, DC in 1959.
We experienced the law of the land, that day, by being beaten and arrested for the heinous crime of sitting next to each other in a drugstore and ordering soft drinks. The operative crime being black and white and sitting next to each other.
The wallpaper niceties and social veneer have changed. Victories have been won and lost in terms of rights. But, the racism that was part of the fabric of America from inception has a long way to go — to leave us all in a better land.
Now there’s an Activist Judge the GOP can endorse!
#3
The water has been swirling at an increasing speed since the flush in 2000.
The very sad thing is the life of Tyrone Brown is beyond redemption. More then half his life he has been treated like an animal. His formative years, when he should have been maturing, he was beaten and made to understand just how small he really is. The only way he might ever be safely released is through extensive therapy and help.
The Judge, on the other hand, isn’t fit to serve. Life for testing positive for pot?
Occasionally on this blog, there comes a topic that truly ruins my mood for the day. I could go outside and rake leaves, but that enjoyment of breathing fresh air, listening to honk overhead, cars zooming by on the highway, the cry of small kids down the street, the smell of someone a few doors burning his leaves, watching our dog run through my pile will all be things Tyrone Brown will never be able to appreciate. Who knows what truly wrong things he has done, are they worse then the things I did by age 17?
So I’m curious, are you in favor of rigid statutory sentencing guidelines, or are you for judicial discretion and hope that he doesn’t make his ruling based on his personal prejudices?
OK, I understand that this was an awful thing that was done with the sentencing, and I agree that this judge should be checked out for corruption, but can someone PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE PRESIDENT? I’m getting so sick of these types of stories being linked back to him, even though he had absolutely nothing to do with it. And to think, John, I thought you were above all that!
actually, I am in favor of judicial discretion that is subject to proportionality review. The guy who got life should be able to appeal and point to the much lesser sentence imposed upon the other guy and get a reduction.
the problem with strict statutory guidelines is that the emphasis is on making them harsh, not making them fit the individual defendant.
First a few comments without regard to race, wealth or social status.
Mistake #1 Mr. Brown used a gun in the commission of a crime. Clearly he should have done jail time (5 years minimum). He should not have been immediately released back into society. Mr. Brown may have had few options in life but it was his choice to point a gun at another human being who was not a threat to him. In a perfect world there should be a judicial review process to correct this type of mistake.
Mistake #2 The extreme sentence of life imprisonment for a minor violation of the terms of probation is ludicrous. Again in a perfect world this judicial mistake should be corrected during appeals.
Mistake #3 Mr. Wood killed an unarmed man by shooting him in the back and then stole the victims money (given for services rendered). He should have been sentenced to AT LEAST 20 years if not life. As before, in a perfect world there should be a judicial review process to correct this type of mistake.
Now back to the real world.
All too often, justice in America relies on the ability of your lawyer to manipulate the jury (and judges). As is often the case, the more money and social standing (which unfortunately can still be related to race) you have, the better lawyer you can afford. A better lawyer can manipulate the jury and find loopholes to eliminate evidence. Key to much of this is the jury system itself. A typical jury is “largely” made up of people that were either not intelligent enough to get out of jury duty or have nothing more useful to do in their life. These type of people are often biased and are easily swayed (manipulated) with emotional speeches delivered by a skillful lawyer. The system of a “Jury of your peers” was a noble concept but is fatally flawed and naive.
Lastly individual judges often have too much latitude and frankly too much power. The type of person who becomes a Judge is typically the same type of person who becomes a lawyer or a politician. These personality types want to dominate over others, become wealthy at any cost, have extreme morality deficiencies (mental illness) and are basically unfit to be part of a decent society.
The “system” has been corrupted by these type of people. It is broken and needs to be torn down and completely re-thought out and rebuilt.
Steve
You all know that we all have a voice,
USE IT…
Even judges can be removed..
#8: Just another example of the government running roughshod over the people it’s supposed to be serving. And the Prez and his policies are simply accelerating and improving the ability of the government and his business cronies to do this. Unless you haven’t been keeping up with what’s going on in this country, I would have thought that was obvious.
HEY!! just cause the judge was using racial profiling doesnt mean its not justice…. its just justice in the old west…
As a victim of the Texas Criminal Justice Industry, I’m here to tell you:
It really doesn’t have a thing to do with race anymore. Those days are long gone. The police, the prosecutors, the judges are (in the metro areas where 95%+ of Texans live) white, black, Hispanic, Asian, male, female, gay and straight.
The sole factor at work here – and I have found this to hold true for everywhere in America where there is a dominant Republican presence – is not race, it is POVERTY.
Whites get shit upon in exactly the same way as blacks – when they can’t afford a competent lawyer. And conversely, black criminals get off every bit as scot-free as whites – when they have the means to get a competent (or better yet, connected) lawyer.
For some years now, minorities have had no shortage of advocacy resources available, when their minority status bears on their disposition by the system. But no matter what your color, if you’re poor, they can and will fuck you, and there’s nothing you can do about it – and they know it, which is WHY they do it…
Compare the proportions of racial groups in both the gen pop and in the CJ system – then do the same comparison with income instead of race as the variable and you’ll be surprised how much closer the correlation…
You can’t shit on minorities in modern urban Amerika without some kind of blowback, but you can do pretty much whatever you want to poor people and not a word is heard. Consider how much more prevalent poverty is among minorities and you should realize it’s no longer your skin that matters with money-grubbing Republican-law-&-order, it’s your wallet. Take it from one who’s not only BTDT, but has the T-shirt to prove it.
So Pointeth Out The Ghoti
#11 ECA:
You’ve got to be kidding right? The bitching and moaning only works during a Democrat rule, otherwise Rumsfeld would have been gone a long time ago.
#10…Steve S…….There are many, many good Judges out there, who know the law and try to be even handed when they here a case. There are many decent and good Lawyers out there as well, who do all they possibly can for their clients, rich or poor.
I became a lawyer(not quite, 2 years of internship left to do) because I saw wrongs in our society and hoped to be able to change them. While my interests lie with animals and enviromental habitat issues and not criminal justice, I can say that I personally know lawyers in this country and in Britain who don’t do it for the money, or the fame, but because they want everyone to have equal justice.
In Texas, it’s hard to get rid of a bad Judge. It’s hard everywhere actually. But it can be done and there are people trying to do it, and guess what, they are usually lawyers.
Imagine you walk alone at night on some dark, empty street (obviously not a downtown). You see small group of black guys walking towards you from opposite direction. Now substitute these black guys with white guys.
Do I even have to ask whom are you going to be affraid more?
So what are you talking about…
I was told this once by my black friend during one of those heavy discussions about racism.
Nice try blaming it on poverty. Half of the world lives in much worse conditions than ‘poor black americans’ yet they don’t have as much violence, how come then? There are no ‘white men’ to blame for [insert whatever] in India or arabic countries, yet they are much poorer and still LESS violent.
The problem lies in black american’s themselves only.
Judges are only people. There are many idiots among them. Digging few stories about ‘bad judges’ supposed to do what exactly – change our society somehow? Or is it just another lame excuse to justify violence? I dont get it. Perhaps you should talk to some black people and hear what they really think instead of stirring the usual ‘racism’ shit.
Lauren — I agree with the basics of much of your analysis. Sadly, much of Texas — even the populous bits — isn’t modern urban Amerika. Did you ever spend any time in Lubbock?
June Teenth wouldn’t have been such a big holiday in the history of Black Texans if it wasn’t for White Texans trying to stop good news. Well, the good news of equal rights has missed a great deal of Texas — from the top down.
joshua — I’ve been lucky enough to know and work with beaucoup lawyers who did exactly what you propound — fight back against injustice with their own time and money. They are as reviled and slandered by our native nutjobs and bigots as anyone else who stands up for progress.
The sad part remains — follow the money because that’s what governs most lawyers. That’s why so many become politicians. There’s even more money awaiting.
Have you ever been under the barrel of a gun held by a criminal, Uncle Pussy? They should put the black guy away forever. I suppose the white one also.