Monday, June 11, 2007

The Two-Tier U.S. Injustice System

The Paris Hilton jail sentence has sparked a feeding frenzy for the Paparazzi who dog her every move and have made her a no-talent celebrity of unjustifiable fame.

The up side of this ugly scandal is the opportunity to address the U.S. criminal "injustice" system. A two-tier system that treats perpetrators of a certain background or lineage better. This system already existed before the attention brought to 5-star jails" by the Paris Hilton debacle.

People shouldn't be surprised to learn that the rich, White or well-to-do have the opportunity to rent better digs and get better incarceration terms during their stint in jail. It's just the next step in a blatantly unjust "system".

The "justice" that is meted out is not just at all. Blacks, Latinos, and non-U.S. citizens in this country are profiled, monitored and once they are caught up in "the system", there is often very little that will save them from a cycle of incarceration and recidivism.

In another Paris scandal; in Paris, Texas a case was examined by the Chicago Tribune that points out the starkly unequal treatment of two teenagers.
    "In Texas, a white teenager burns down her family's home and receives probation. A black one shoves a hall monitor and gets 7 years in prison. The state NAACP calls it 'a signal to black folks.'"

Shaquanda Cotton was released early on March 31st this year. Her release was ordered by a special "conservator" appointed to overhaul the State of Texas' scandal ridden Juvenile Justice system.
    "We have no confidence in the system that was in place," said Jim Hurley, spokesman for the conservator, Jay Kimbrough. "And this case is an example of what we expect to happen if something wrong has been done to youths being held inside that system."

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