Race in America - legal imbalance

So I have recently discussed race in America, specifically the inequality of law enforcement and punishment (at Black Entertainment USA and here). Sean Bell, Wesley Snipes, Megan Williams, the Jena 6 and others are but a tip of the iceberg of failure in some aspect of the legal system. From the failure to prosecute, failure to convict, the rush to presume and proclaim guilt, and the retroactively excessive and (in my opinion) abusive sentencing there is nothing that is balanced about Justice in America.

Now add to that a case I have read about today. By the way, if you are African American and live in Texas, especially Dallas, don’t ever get arrested. Because there is a real chance you will get convicted and in the worst case you will be sentenced to death. Such is the case of James Lee Woodard.

James Lee Woodard is an innocent man, wrongly convicted of murder in 1981. It has taken 27 years and the efforts of the Innocence Project to provide him a DNA test proving his innocence. And if you wonder why he had to wait for them, it’s because the legal system willfully ignored him. Mr. Woodard filed 6 writs with appeals courts and 2 requests for the DNA tests (that would eventually free him). Instead of considering his pleas he was labeled a writ abuser and ignored.

Imagine that. You are innocent, and your request to be proven so is brushed off as annoying chatter.

There was a study by the Justice Department (A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995) that stated in 22 years there was no proof of a wrongly executed person. Yet 500 were executed in that time frame. Mr. Woodard was convicted in that timeframe. So if he was never given a DNA test, and executed the DOJ would have still claimed no error. Thus the question must be asked, how many have been denied a DNA test and executed wrongly?

Why is the DNA so important? Why is this such an abomination of justice? Because Mr. Woodard was convicted by 2 witnesses – of which one recanted their testimony in court documents and the other is stated as being completely unreliable (now). And Mr. Woodard is not alone.

In Texas 31 people have been found innocent by DNA testing. 18 were convicted in Dallas alone. Both of these are national highs. How many have not been heard because they have claimed their innocence too much? Because the ears of the Justice system close quickly. Especially when the fact is that Blacks, nationwide, are more likely to be convicted of a violent crime than any other racial group in the nation.

In a culture that is rife with cases where African American males are repeatedly targeted for senseless murders by law enforcement officers, and the legal system is prone to handing out the harshest penalties, can we afford to have closed ears? How often do we hear of Black men, convicted by eyewitnesses that are wrong or knowingly guessing and legal procedures that are unbalanced, being released after decades of incarceration?

What about cases like Genarlow Wilson, a young Black youth convicted to 10 years in a case that even the most jaded would call overly excessive. What about Wesley Snipes who was given the harshest possible sentence to make up for the fact the Government failed to get a conviction on felony charges – that a jury of his peers found him innocent of. What about a judge penalizing witnesses for the prosecution for their dress code and attitude by absolving the defendants of guilt without the benefit of a jury or the defendants testifying (the Sean Bell case).

Like politics today, where issues are abandoned in pursuit of the character of individuals not up for election, where is the justice?

America has issues. Many want to hide their heads in the sand or stick fingers in their ears rather than deal with the uncomfortable truth. America is as biased and racist as it was in 1950 or 1860. We just dress it up better.

So what can we do? What is possible for the public? Everything.

Write to your Congressional representative and Senator. Have your friends and family, your schools and classmates, your job and co-workers write. Post up blogs, and speak at community events. Be involved in your community and vocal at public discussions. Write a blog or make a website. Act.

Because if you are waiting for someone to act on your behalf you may wind up like the person in a joke I once heard:

“There is this guy in his house. He hears on TV that a flood is coming and he should evacuate. He prays to God to save him and goes about his day at home. The flood waters start to reach his house when a police officer drives up and tries to get him to leave with him. The man refuses saying – I’m a good man. I pray to God and have strong faith. God will save me.

The waters continue to rise and fill the 1st floor of his 2 story house. A man in a row boat comes up and begs the man to get in. He refuses again saying – I follow my faith. I love God, and pray often. I have faith, God will save me.

The floodwaters rise further and the man is forced to his roof. A helicopter comes by and pleads with the man to grab a ladder and fly off with them. Adamant the man stays shouting – I prayed to God and he will save me! I have faith!

The man dies from drowning in the flood. In heaven he sees God. He asks God why he didn’t save him.

God says, “You are a good man. You have strong faith and lived well. I heard your prayers. So I sent you a cop in a car, a guy in a rowboat, and a helicopter. What more did you want me to do?”

Media and justice equal? Part 2 - 6.21.2007.2

Continued from Media and justice equal?

“For the last year we have seen anger in white men about the miscarriage of justice they claimed occurred against these kids. In the last year they have had a chance to get a taste of the imbalance that can occur when a prosecutor decides he wants to go after a defendant. They got a glimpse of what Black men get all the time.”

But I am not the only voice in this matter. I have not been the only one to question the ‘innoccence’ of they boys. Has everyone forgotten that this incident started because these ‘upstanding young men’ decided that they needed to call an escort service to have women perform sex acts with a broomstick, while they engaged in under-age drinking?

“… ive decided to have some strippers over to eden 2c. all are welcome.. howerver there will be no nudity. I plan on killing the bitches as soon as the walk in and proceding to cut their skin off while cumming in my duke issue spandex.. “

Innocent of the charges but not innocent individuals, though the media has glanced way past this.

But when was the last time that Black defendants received this same level of positive coverage by the media or the justice system? What case can you name?

In the OJ Simpson case the nation displayed a

reaction to seeing how dismayed whites were when the legal system worked for a Black man in the same way that it had worked for whites all too many times. The intelligence of the mostly Black jury was questioned by the media and became a national punch line on late night television.

The Rodney King case, which prompted the riots, had many

figured the case for police brutality was pretty obvious. Everything you needed to know was right there on video. Instead many white people accepted the LAPD’s defense that King was a threat and the Simi Valley jury’s acquittal of the officers. The juror’s intelligence was never questioned the way the jurors in the O.J. trial was.

Beyond this, how many cases have we heard where an ambiguous African American was the perpetrator only to learn that the actual criminal was the supposed victim. How many times has an African American been arrested based solely on this presumption, and the media demanded their conviction with the harshest penalties only to become completely silent when the truth becomes known?

Injustice is not a Black and White issue, according to the law. Inequality under the law is a fact of life. Now that former D.A. Nifong has been quickly disbarred, the alleged rapists decried innocent of their charges, purported millions paid to their families, and the original victim discredited by the media – who have released her name and image – what happens next?

[I have to mention that I have never heard of a case, no matter the outcome, where an alleged rape victim’s name, image and virtually their address has been released to the public and promoted on several broadcasts. It was an unheard of act, but in this case, for this woman, there was an exception of what was previously a media rule.]

Will the justice system and the media start treating all defendants the same? Will Blacks be defended vigorously when potentially involved in an event? Well just observe the coverage on the missing mother Jessie Davis. Perhaps the father-to-be is guilty, but the media seems sure of it. These kinds of cases often involve someone close to the victim so it could be. But if you compare the questions and amount of coverage being directed to the father-to-be versus the coverage and questions of the man whose entire family was found dead in a car, you see a big difference.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Media and justice equal? - 6.21.2007.1

Here is something that really hits home. This involves the Duke Rape Case, OJ Simpson, and the Justice system in America, the Rodney King riots and the news media. While one might think at a glance that none of these events could be linked the fact is that at their core they all are based in the same situation. It is that core that needs to be discussed more.

The question of injustice is always a hotbed discussion and something that gets the mouths of news media executives watering. It means ratings, and usually can be pumped for days sometimes weeks in a row. It’s something that every American has a viewpoint on, and sometimes the entire world wants to comment about. Injustice is the reason why our legal system was created and theoretically works to fight. Yet, it is the most obvious lie known to everyone but rarely ever seriously acted on.

The most recent image of injustice has been the Duke Rape case. Currently the nation was obsessed with the proof of innocence of the boys accused. For a year there has been constant attention to evidence, procedure, witnesses, the alleged victim, and what might have happened.

What was obscured in all this focused attention was the cause of the situation, the motivation for the claimed event, the prior environment leading to that day, and the immediate aftermath before the media got involved. The statement that the Duke students are ‘innocent’ was more powerful than any other fact.

I’ve spoken about the case from time to time

“Like most racial cases there is an opinion being promoted. Like the OJ trials, where a rich man used the best lawyers he could afford to defend himself, and police officers (or at least Mr. Furman) manipulated evidence. Yet the media screamed guilt though we are supposed to be presumed innocent. Or the case of Mr. Daryl Littlejohn. And I look at how the media downplayed the Bensonhurst murder, or Chapaquidiq (I know the spelling is wrong) or the beating of Mr. Rodney King. These are not extremes, and they are relevant. In cases of racial tension the media always picks a side.”

And then there was

“This is not what I would call fair or balanced reporting. Considering that perhaps millions hear your words and determine the facts of the case based on your reporting, I feel you have done a disservice to this News event. The coverage of this matter demands more than 30 seconds of airtime. It also begs an impartial coverage of the facts as they exist and not a view that implies, presents, and influences thoughts to one side or another.”

Most recently I mentioned...

Continued in Part 2...

The uneven hand of justice - 3.3.2007.1

I’m sure most have heard of the two 19 year-old girls that walked in and robbed a bank Thursday. It’s made the national news, and had lots of local coverage from what I gather. No weapons were used, and it now seems that it was at least in part an inside job as an employee of the bank has been arrested as well as the 2 girls.

What you may not have heard, and is not making major news is that the robbery is now being called a theft. You may say so what, but it makes a big difference. If it’s robbery of a bank then it’s a felon and that’s major time. If it’s theft then it’s a much lesser charge. I believe the difference is 10 – 15 years in jail time and having a record of a felony following you for the rest of your life. In essence the road is being paved to let these 2 girls walk away from this now high-profile crime with the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

Now imagine if I made this robbery. I doubt whether or not I had an inside accomplice that the charge would be lessened to theft. I seriously doubt that the news media would regard my actions in the light-hearted manner in which these girls have been. There would have been an immediate man-hunt. Rumors of a hidden weapon used in the crime would be rampant. The community would be in arms about violence and the undisciplined youth of today. Allegations of drug use would pop up. And several media sources would call for my incarceration at the most extreme penalty of the law to make an example of me.

What is the difference? I’m not a teenage, white, woman. Does that change the crime? No. Does it affect what has happened? No. Does it affect how the legal system will be applied? Apparently it does.

This kind of unbalanced application of the law and penalties is something that every minority in the nation is aware of intimately. If it were 2 Latina/Hispanics, or Asians, or Black women nothing about this case would be similar. Stand back if it were 2 young girls that were Arab, Muslim, or looked like either of those. There would have been cries of terrorist connections and probably crowds of vigilantes roving the streets in pursuit of them.

I mentioned this story to two friends, a Black woman and her husband who is White. In telling them the story I left out the color of the 2 girls. When I asked what the charges should be they thought it was obvious that it was a felony. They were amazed when I said the charge was theft. The amount of money taken qualified for Grand Theft, which is a felony and it’s a bank even with an insider involved. The husband noted because of the insider it can be considered embezzlement. As they were bedazzled by this I told them the race of the women, and their reaction was swift and sharp. The whole thing was being washed away they stated. The fact that it was unbalanced application of the law made sense, once the race was known. Considering it was the Atlanta area they had assumed that the girls were Black.

Many may question why race is such an issue in America. Some argue that we have grown beyond the need to continue to fight racism. But events like this highlight the fact that the problems are persistent. We cannot expect anyone to believe that there isn’t a problem when the punishment for crimes are handed down on a sliding scale of justice.

This is what I think, What do you think?