First, the white.
here was the 19-year-old white man, convicted last July of criminally negligent homicide for killing a 54-year-old black woman and her 3-year-old grandson with his truck, who was sentenced in Paris to probation and required to send an annual Christmas card to the victims’ family.
Christmas card? Nice touch!
And then there is the case that most troubles Cherry and leaders of the Texas NAACP, involving a 14-year-old black freshman, Shaquanda Cotton, who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun.
The youth had no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor–a 58-year-old teacher’s aide–was not seriously injured. But Shaquanda was tried in March 2006 in the town’s juvenile court, convicted of “assault on a public servant” and sentenced by Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville to prison for up to 7 years, until she turns 21.
Yep. 7 years. No prior. Maybe this is why Yahoo can’t find Texas in their map directions? Who would want to? (Sorry Dave)
But he was White while she was Black. Seems OK to me.
I am the Explainer!
The Prez
Never forget: Texas assassinated JFK because he spoke for black civil rights.
So, a 14 year old schoolchild has been convicted of ‘ Assault on a public servant ‘ because he ‘ shoved a hall monitor ‘ and has beens sentenced to juvenile life imprisonment, from the child’s present age, fourteen, until the child is twenty-one years old, seven years.
¿ What kind of message about the United States of America does this send to the ‘ evil ones ‘ who supposedly hate us for our whatever and the rest of the world ?
¡ S U P P O R T O U R H A L L M O N I T O R S O R Y O U
W I L L B E I M P R I S O N E D !
Where do you go to buy a Christmas card that expresses a depth of sentiment commensurate with having caused the vehicular deaths of a little boy and his grandma? I’ve been to the Hallmark store, and I didn’t see anything that even came close.
Obviously, without more facts, I don’t know if this is really a good example of how color-conscious the wheels of justice often seem. But there are literally thousands of other examples to remind us that equality under the law is still more of an ideal than a reality.
Just so you don’t think life is entirely one-sided, though, I heard of somebody’s white grandma who got run over by a reindeer on Christmas Eve, and Santa was never even arrested.
Texas must be very proud.
Yeehaw!
my answer to the article is “so”
its been known for a long time that laws are harsher in the south & there are more blacks in prison there then in most places. so heres the kicker
the localities/ states get to decide their local laws, not the nation. its seems harsh to us (normal people) but it their choicet act like douches.
and heres a fact, most other races don’t want to live next to blacks, have anything to do with them, or have them in their neighborhoods in general.
white flight happens when blacks move next to them. just look at
lancaster Ca once a bastion of white folks, now most are leaving cause of blacks moving up there
mexicans don’t want to live next to blacks Here in L.A. most mexican gangs now have kill orders from the shot callers to kill any blacks in their neighborhoods & freely tag “NK” in their nieghborhoods. (N is the black slang N___ER & K is killer)
asians don’t want to live next to blacks. most assume they will be robbed by them.
I know I sound like an asshole but I thats the way things are and yea its sucks, & yea, this won’t change anytime soon.
Texas justice has a tone all its own.
I’m waiting for Larry the Fish to get here and tell us how this is great and that the black grandmother had it coming. Larry has seldom failed to satisfy in this regard.
And James Hill will tell us how he now owns us and the subject has been hacked.
I don’t want to defend disparate treatment under the law, but when you compare two different cases like these, it is like comparing apples to oranges. Look at each case on its own, then decide if race was a factor in the prosecutor’s discretion or in sentancing.
Regardless of the race of the defendant and the victims in the criminally negligent homicide case, I will guess, without knowing more facts, that the case was prosecuted properly and punishment was typical for this sort of crime. Race would only be a factor if black perpatrators were charged with more serious charges and punished more harshly for similar against white victims.
In the case with the girl shoving the hall monitor, it seems like their was prosecutorial abuse, but maybe the LAWS in Texas are written such that the prosecutor is within his her discretion to charge what he/she did. Maybe race was a factor IF white kids who committed similar acts were treated differently, but comparing this to a negligent homicide case is inappropriate.
Racial bias may or may not have existied in this girl’s case. I’m not trying to say that racial bias does not exist in the legal system, because I beleive it does, but the best way to combat it is make sure you understand how the justice system works and to make PROPER COMPARISONS so you can defend your cause more appropriately.
9,
Did you RTFA? No priors. She had a agreement to enter the building earlier to visit the school nurse. She was pushed first (who knows?). Did I mention no priors? 7 years for a 14 year old is a horrible injustice. Did I mention no priors? 7 years.
Look at the other things they tried to blame her for. Ruining a school desk which the school then said didn’t happen. Pouring too much paint in a cup during art class. A skirt one inch too short. It’s called railroading.
The first case was an accident, no alcohol involved. The second was intentional assault, and a teenager against a geezer. Get over it.
10,
Yes, I did read the FA. The point of the article is disparate treatment of whites and blacks in the legal system in Paris.
Did you carefully read my post?? I am well aware that she had no priors. I fully understand that on its surface, it does seem as though the punishment outweighs the crime. Did anything in my post contradict that?
My whole point was that we don’t REALLY know how whites and blacks are treated differently unless we look at apples to apples comparisons with similar acts and similar laws being broken. Are you familiar with the legal system and the different punushments for different crimes? Similar facts and legal vilations are needed to make a proper comparative analysis.
If you want my PERSONAL take, the outcome for this girl DOES offend my personal sense of justice. But my LOGICAL analysis is it doesn’t become a racial contrversy unless we know that whites are treated differently under SIMILAR FACTS AND CIRCUMSTACES. Otherwise any person (or journalist) can pick and choose the facts they like, and ignore the important ones. I just wish this writer would have included more pertinent information.
I am curious to know what your response to this is.
Just three months earlier, Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family’s house, to probation.
Same judge. Same age of perp. Totally different sentence.
There are no plaques or markers to denote it, but several of the most notorious public lynchings of black Americans in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries were staged at the Paris Fairgrounds, where thousands of white spectators would gather to watch and cheer as black men were dragged onto a scaffold, scalded with hot irons and finally burned to death or hanged.
Some history to that town, so it’s probable.
America has been segregated for many years, and one generation of integration can’t break it.
Sick. 😛 Perhaps a forced harmonization of all state laws and firing judges who rather play with their erection pumps than doing their jobs correctly would do the trick
Chief Justice Earl Warren used to apply what he called a fairness test. If the law allowed results that were blatantly, patently unfair, he tended to vote that the law was not Constitutional under the 14th Amendment. (SN, pls correct me if I am wrong about that.)
Of course that was before our Republican Supreme Court started doing stuff like allowing executions despite, new, strongly exonerating evidence, execution of feeble-minded people when learning to read in jail pushed them barely over the IQ test level of feeble-minded, and feeling qualified to issue a ruling that invalidated state elections while exempting it from use as precedent. Justice no longer has anything to do with outcomes in that court and the constitution is only about process, nothing more. Unless a Republican candidate might lose. Then it’s not about the process, either.
But if ever there was a case of blatantly, patently unfair treatment under the law, here it is. Comparisons with other cases aren’t for logical or legal reasons, they’re for the contrast. No priors, no injury, hall monitor in the wrong – 7 years. Run over a black kid – probation and a Christmas card. You know what’s really the same about those two cases? Paris, Texas.
if that yahoo judge was also a common factor… well. Wouldn’t that be interesting. Anybody know if the same judge ruled in both cases?
Missed Named’s post (13). Answers my question, or close enough to it as makes no difference. Looks to me like the judge ought to be prosecuted for blatant asshole-ism on the bench.
Okay, that’s IT!!! I’m never going to Texas!
A strange and twisted thought:
Since the Constitution said that Negroes (Blacks, African Americans, whatever) are only 3/5 of a person, wouldn’t that mean they should only get 3/5 of the sentence a White (Caucasian…) would get?
Just another random neural discharge…
J/P=?
Named,
“Same judge. Same age of perp. Totally different sentence.”
One important factor you did not mention is the law. In many situations, it can be all about the charge. It goes without saying that arson and assault on a public servant are different offenses which may in fact carry different statutory penalties. Both are aggravated offenses, and perhaps we agree that they SHOULD carry similar punishment, so maybe we have the Texas legislature to thank (blame!) on that one.
Since she was charged with assault on a public servant, this law may be broad enough that her conduct fell within it, but my assumption is that the the girl probably did not have adequate legal representation to show that when this law was created, it was not meant to include her behavior. If she was not represented well, or the law was misinterpreted, hopefully that is the issue that will be resolved on the appeal.
It is sad to read about the terrible treatment of blacks in Paris’ history, and discrimination may very well still go on in Paris today. Still, think it is important today to realize that every differnece in punishment between white and black convicts cannot or should not be attributed to racial bias unless more facts are known.
Fucking niggers get what they deserve!
Texas for life.
I hope that enough press can bring pressure to change this. I dont think the man can be properly punished because of double jeopardy(although he need to be ) but mabey a proper appeal can lower the sentence for the poor girl
A Texan hangs his head low in disgrace
#20, we’re all out of your sheet size right now, so you’ll have to make your own costume for the rally this weekend. By the way, don’t forget — it’s your turn to bring the marshmallows. It would be a shame to build such a nice fire with the cross of Jesus and not have any snacks.
And for God’s sake, don’t stop to form a thought or read a book. The KKK loses more members that way.
I dont know whats worse – a dumb Texan or someone who has never been to Texas and makes up their own ingnorant opinions based on a truly idiotic judge from a small backwoods town.
If you do come to Texas… visit Austin. You may be pleasantly surprised. Texas is beautiful (most of the year). The people are very friendly, helpful, kind and real. Which is more than I can say for the general population of NY or CA. They are great states but nobody talks to eachother and could give a rats ass about one another.
It sux that stories like this give us a bad name. Whats worse is that people believe that everyone from TX must love GWBush – but that couldnt be further from the truth.
Yes we love football and bbq but thats really just an excuse to hang out with family, friends and get to know our neighbors… call us crazy.
23. Right on! Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston. Ocean, beaches, mountains, desert, piney woods, plains, hill country, etc. And they didn’t build Mission Control in New York, did they? Rocket scientists, world-class astronomers, fighter jet mfgs, Bell Helicopter, Texas Instruments, Rockwell, Cisco, etc. We’re not all morons here. Jess, here’s a Shiner Bock and a plate of brisket for ya.
Thanks Bubbs….and dont forget about Dell!
BTW, I named my dog Shiner so you know what my fav. beer is!
I do wish Texas would change in some ways… but even more I wish people would change their minds about Texas. Not that they dont have good reason to judge… but how can you categorize 23 million people into one group?
To the surprise of some – TX has ALL types of people. Liberal, conservative, black, white, hispanic, asian, mixed races, hippies, cowboys & indians – you name it we got it. 🙂
You can also find similar sentencing disparities between different white people and you will also find sentencing disparities between two black people if you look. In other words, it is not surprising that this disparity can be found between a white and a black, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that racism is involved. It could be just that judges apply subjective rules to their sentences and there will be weird results from time to time. It would take a long term statistical analysis to determine if racism is involved, and even then it would have to be done carefully to make sure that you were isolating racism and not other factors. The two cases you cite are meaningless.
It is quite possible that these examples are less about racism and more about the financial income level of the defendant and the incredible deficiencies in the American justice system. Either way, the justice system is long overdue for an extreme overhaul.
I have a hard time believeing the NAACP. They already gave an incomplete story with that kid who was sent to jail for statutory rape. I’ll wait till some others look into that story.
I don’t blame Texas. I think your whole country is crazy.
People look at this as an example of what’s wrong with the justice system and say it needs to be looked at. Looking at the justice system and doing a long term study on whether racism played a part or not isn’t going to change anything. There is a time for talking and a time for action. Talking will not solve this. That girl’s life is going to be destroyed because she didn’t have good representation. It sounds to me like some people need to spray paint her name on every flat surface they can find and set fire to a lot of public buildings.
This solution does not sound crazy to me.
11 – It must be profoundly different for you, living without a heart.
Seven years. No priors. Fourteen-year-old felon.
I’m almost always irritated by the lightweight sentences handed down, as well as mandatory minimums that bypass all judicial expertise and clog USA prisons. But wouldn’t five years make more sense in this case? Or three?
Heck, why not make it seventy? That’ll teach her.
“Get over it” is not clever anymore, by the way, or particularly relevant. Thoughtful people came here to discuss the subject. Your use of that phrase won’t dismiss others’ discourse as pure emotionalism or fixation on the cause of hurt feelings. Perhaps you might want to Google a few more tired clichés for use in future posts. HtH.
28 makes a good point, though.
There’s -always- more to the story…
Double standards will exist for as long as the electorate tolerates or approves of them. Texas citizens are responsible for the governance of Texas.