The Color of Justice
I read this article about two sisters, ages 36 and 38, who are serving two life sentences each for armed robbery, but will be released if one donates a kidney to the other. Apparently, the one sister's dialysis is costing the state $190,000 a year, and they're eager to be free from the expense.
It's an interesting story in and of itself. But what I found more interesting is why these two women got double life sentences in the first place. Apparently, they were only accomplices to the armed robbery, leading two men into an ambush, where they were hit over the head by some others, and robbed of $11.
It's a crime that they should be punished for. But double life sentences?? People who commit murder don't even get that most of the time. And here these two women in their early 20's - with children - are sentenced to double life sentences for being involved in a mugging.
The first thought I had when I read that was: they must be black. There's no way a jury would sentence a white person that way. This must be a white jury saying, "Let's get these black people out of our society so we don't have to think about them any more." And, sure enough, they are.
It's a sad thing when you can tell the color of someone's skin by the type of injustice they receive. It's one of the things that makes me ashamed of my country.
I'm glad these two women are getting out - after serving 16 years! But, really, shouldn't the system have corrected this wrong a long, long time ago? This is just sad. And there are so many other cases just like it out there.
It's an interesting story in and of itself. But what I found more interesting is why these two women got double life sentences in the first place. Apparently, they were only accomplices to the armed robbery, leading two men into an ambush, where they were hit over the head by some others, and robbed of $11.
It's a crime that they should be punished for. But double life sentences?? People who commit murder don't even get that most of the time. And here these two women in their early 20's - with children - are sentenced to double life sentences for being involved in a mugging.
The first thought I had when I read that was: they must be black. There's no way a jury would sentence a white person that way. This must be a white jury saying, "Let's get these black people out of our society so we don't have to think about them any more." And, sure enough, they are.
It's a sad thing when you can tell the color of someone's skin by the type of injustice they receive. It's one of the things that makes me ashamed of my country.
I'm glad these two women are getting out - after serving 16 years! But, really, shouldn't the system have corrected this wrong a long, long time ago? This is just sad. And there are so many other cases just like it out there.
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