I could link to every piece on Democracy Now! Here’s a piece from one of last week’s shows.
“A wealthy teen who killed four people in a Texas drunk driving accident will not go to jail after a judge ruled this week that instead, he must attend an expensive rehabilitation facility paid for by his parents. The driver was 16-year-old Ethan Couch. He was speeding, with a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. Couch has admitted to his crime, and in a case that went before a Texas judge, prosecutors sought a 20-year sentence. Instead, Couch was sentenced to 10 years’ probation after a psychologist claimed he had “affluenza,” and testified that his cushy upbringing prevented him from connecting bad behavior with its consequences. We get response from Richard Alpert, the Tarrant County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case against Couch. We are also joined by Boyce Watkins, a Syracuse University professor and the founder of “YourBlackWorld.net.” He recently wrote an article titled “Rich, White Kids Have ‘Affluenza,’ Poor, Black Kids Go to Prison.”
Anderson Cooper: “A 14-year-old African-American child was sentenced by this same judge a year or two ago. This 14-year-old killed one person, punching him. That person fell and hit his head on the sidewalk and died. That African-American child got 10-year sentence, got sent to the juvenile justice facility. I mean, why should there be a separate system—“
Get that this isn’t just happening to poor, black kids. Our criminal justice system, same as our political system, has been corrupted by money. This can happen to you, too.
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