Should a persons race be considered during sentencing? Something like “Well he is white so he gets 15 years, but this other person is black so he only gets 10”
Or maybe, because he is black, “he doesnt know any better” or “He is too stupid to be expected to act like a human being. so how can he be punished for that”
And who do you think would be pushing to consider a persons race in sentencing? Well it wasnt those Trump MAGA guys. It was the Democrats in California.
I agree with Morgan Freeman. The only way to abolish racism is to stop talking about it.
I guess that’s what I am missing. I dont see anyone “negatively” harmed by it. but the optics are awful. lets say an armed robbery are committed by two people. One white, and one black. Both are convicted , and the statute calls for 15 years. So the white guy gets his 15 years. The black guy gets the same 15 years by statute, but gets given credit for 5 years because of his race, do you see him challenging the penalty because he doesnt get to stay in prison? Would the white guy have “Standing” because he was not actually impacted by the armed robbery law, he just wasnt helped by the sentencing law due to his race?
If a white guy got 15 years for a crime, and a black guy in the same circumstance only got 10…… the white guy was harmed.
Of course the inverse is also true and out country has been guilty of the reverse in the past. Reversing the discrimination doesn’t make it better though.
California should just fix any current sentencing standards that are racially biased. Why compound stupid with more stupid?
The bill would add a section to the Penal Code of California requiring courts, whenever they have the authority to determine a prison sentence, to “rectify” alleged racial bias in the criminal justice system by taking into account how historically persecuted minorities are affected differently than others.
So long as “equity” and “equal results” are used as a metric, progs will continue to see systemic racism in the justice system. And they will try to “rectify” it in these overtly racist ways.
The idea that two different cultures could produce two different propensities for criminal behavior is anathema to progs. Belief in “personal responsibility” is not one of their platforms.
I agree that we as a society need to reinforce personal responsibility and consequences of actions.
That does not mean that we should ignore social determinants and how that shapes an individual so we can address those but ultimately individuals make a conscious decision to engage in activities or behaviors that result in arrest and criminal charges.
Yes, as a society we have allowed a culture of excuse making to become the norm.
Many parents (and this crosses the political divide) do not do this for so many reasons.
For example my son was getting bullied and one day he retaliated. He got a suspension for fighting. I explained to my son that personally I was proud for him standing up for himself but explained regardless of the reason he broke school rules and that was why he was suspended. Actions have consequences. It was a good set of life lessons for him.
I dont buy “Racially Biased Sentencing” I agree with what Denzel Washington had to say on it. In every state, repeat offenders are hit harder than first time offenders. So it is easy to point at a guy with 15 priors and say “Look ! he got 10 years for Marijuana possession” when in all actuality he had several priors and and a plea bargain.
