Criminal Justice
Two words that capture the disparity in how people are treated unequally in America based on something as simple as pigmentation and the social construct of race. If you look up the definition of criminal you’ll find something that goes something like this. Criminal is someone who is responsible or found guilty of a crime. Justice is defined as The ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law, that laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another, and that, where harm is alleged, both the accuser and the accused receive a morally right consequence.
Those two definitions never mention an exception based on race. Never the less that difference in American jurisprudence as existed from the countries inception.
One of the first classes you take in Law school is Criminal Law. It’s been 45 years since I took that class and I can still remember my reaction when I was first introduced to the principle of felony murder. Felony murder is a charge that can be leveled at an accused when in the commission of a felony someone loses their life. The someone can be an innocent party or a party to the crime. The controlling factor is that a felony was being committed when the death occurred. The accused doesn’t need to have pulled the trigger or for that matter been present in the room. All that is required is that they be a part of the original felonious crime.
One of the things that has always perplexed me about the felony murder rule was how it disproportionately ensnared black men. I go back to the part of the definition of justice which that people are to be treated impartially fairly and properly. That unfortunately rarely happens.
I’m thinking about the case of Nathaniel Woods. Mr. Woods was a Blackman living in Alabama. In 2004 he was selling drugs. Three police officers went to arrest him at the house he was staying at on a misdemeanor warrant. The house was a dope den. At the time of the incident there was another black man living at the house with Mr. Woods. While Mr. Woods was being placed under arrest his associate awoke and armed himself. He would later claim that he feared for his life from the police. He opened fire on the police killing all three of them. Mr. Woods ran from the home and was later apprehended.
He was charged with felony murder even though he never fired a shot or resisted the officers.At trial he was charged with felony murder and found guilty. The jury was not able to come to a unanimous decision regarding sentencing. The jury voted 10 to 2 for execution. In Alabama unlike most states the death penalty does not require a unanimous decision. The trial judge imposed the death penalty.
Mr Woods sat on death row for the next 16 years spending 23 hours a day confined to a cell. He appealed his conviction and exhausted all of his appeals. He was executed by lethal injection in 2020 after the Governor denied a petition for clemency.
You’ve seen me right about Laquan McDonald he was shot 16 times by a police officer in Chicago who claimed that Laquan was coming at him. He was lying, video from the scene clearly showed McDonald walking away. After an attempted cover up the officer was tried and convicted of manslaughter with a sentence of just over seven years. No other officer was charged even though many had given false statements.
Then there was the Cleveland case of 137 shots. One officer climbed on the hood of the car and fired 49 shots. He claimed that he feared for his life.
When you look like I do you become hypersensitive to the nature of Criminal Justice in America. Mr. Woods was no angel but did he deserve to die for three murders he took no part in?
Think!!
Eyes Wide 👀 👁 Open!!!