http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/207995.htm

Dirty, rotten kids get what they deserve? Ain't that right?

Wow, that is baaaaad.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuure is!!

When I saw the thread title, I thought perhaps you were talking about this:
9 Youths Convicted in Halloween Beatings (http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/H/HALLOWEEN_BEATINGS?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME)

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Nine black youths were convicted Friday in juvenile court of beating three white women in a racially charged attack on Halloween night.
The youths, ranging from 12 to 18 years old, could receive sentences from probation to confinement in juvenile prison until age 25. All were charged with felony assault. The judge found eight of them guilty of hate crimes.
The attack occurred in an upscale area of the city known for its elaborate Halloween decorations.
Prosecutors said the confrontation began when a crowd of black youths threw objects at the three young white women. Some hurled racial insults and one was heard shouting "I hate whites," authorities said.
The group then attacked the victims, knocking them to the ground. The beating stopped when a black man driving by pulled the assailants away and shielded the women with his body, prosecutors said.
A 12-year-old girl was acquitted. And two 15-year-old boys face trial later on felony assault charges.
Defense attorneys tried to discredit a key prosecution witnesses, saying it was too dark and she was too far away to see the assailants. They also deemed a police identification procedure "tainted" because the victims and witnesses were not asked to describe the attackers until they were shown the 10 suspects.
About 100 people gathered outside the courthouse to learn the verdicts.
"Today's not a happy day," said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Brian Schirn. "The victims still have to undergo physical treatment, emotional treatment."
Mark Crouch, 43, whose 14-year-old daughter was convicted, said he disagreed with the hate-crime finding. "It's not right to say she doesn't like white people," he said. "All we can do now is move on."
A representative of the beaten women, Douglas Otto, said they felt vindicated by the verdict and hope the defendants will "admit their wrongdoing and let the healing begin."
Long Beach, 22 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, is a major cargo port with a racially diverse population of 475,000 people.

http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/207995.htm

Dirty, rotten kids get what they deserve? Ain't that right?

When a kid gets as bad a sentence as that for doing almost nothing, it's time to make changes to the law.

When a kid gets as bad a sentence as that for doing almost nothing, it's time to make changes to the law.
It certainly was something, but the real question is was it bad? Was anybody harmed?

When a kid gets as bad a sentence as that for doing almost nothing, it's time to make changes to the law.
It certainly was something, but the real question is was it bad? Was anybody harmed?

The one who seems obviously harmed is the kid going to jail for 10 years which is ridiculous in the extreme. As for previous harm, their ages are close and it was consensual so, it would appear not.

I think this is crap. A 17 year old going to prison for oral sex intiated by the chick? Some people act like sex isnt going to happen between young people. Hell, sex happens between people of all ages. As long as its consensual and it isnt some 20 something and a 15 year old, who cares. I hope this young man gets some sort of retribution, though i dont know what could ever make up for 10 years in prison for a blow job.

When a kid gets as bad a sentence as that for doing almost nothing, it's time to make changes to the law.

It was in Georgia....a land filled with rock-ribbed and sanctimonious religionists. The reason you see preposterous laws like these getting placed on the books is because of public pressure from a populace made up of that sort of ignorant, fundamentalist types.

PLUS, even worse than there being incredibly injust laws on the books, the punishments they proscribe are not handed out evenly. If you read the whole article, you begin to get a sense that this kid was treated in the extremely inflexible way he was because he was black; there are whites who've committed as bad or worse offenses, and recieved 20 or 30 days in jail, not 10 years.

It's a travesty of justice....but then, we are talking about that insane asylum known as *Georga*.

The case of the teen sent to jail for oral sex is a travesty of justice. There should have been no punishment.

The black kids who beat the white girls should receive jail time.

The difference between the two cases is that the first one was consensual and no one was hurt and the second was non-consensual and the three young women were hurt.

Sometimes, "The law is an ass."

When a kid gets as bad a sentence as that for doing almost nothing, it's time to make changes to the law.
It certainly was something, but the real question is was it bad? Was anybody harmed?

I was talking about the sentence being bad. The kid was harmed a lot by the sentence, no one was harmed by what he did though.

PLUS, even worse than there being incredibly injust laws on the books, the punishments they proscribe are not handed out evenly. If you read the whole article, you begin to get a sense that this kid was treated in the extremely inflexible way he was because he was black; there are whites who've committed as bad or worse offenses, and recieved 20 or 30 days in jail, not 10 years.

It's a travesty of justice....but then, we are talking about that insane asylum known as *Georga*.

I hadn't even heard the race of the kid, but from my understanding the problem was the law, not the judge:

Because Wilson and a 15-year-old girl engaged in nonprocreative sex, his conduct fell squarely within the terms of the aggravated child molestation statute.

I hadn't even heard the race of the kid,

It was clearly stated in the article.

...but from my understanding the problem was the law, not the judge:

Because Wilson and a 15-year-old girl engaged in nonprocreative sex, his conduct fell squarely within the terms of the aggravated child molestation statute.

You must not have read the article.

True, the judge's hands were tied, but this case needn't have even gone to trial. The problem seems to be a vindictive district attorney.

The small-town district attorney and prosecutor -Eddie Barker- made Wilson pay for the effrontery of insisting on his innocence.

You must not have read the article.
Glad you're not acting like a complete ass.

True, the judge's hands were tied, but this case needn't have even gone to trial. The problem seems to be a vindictive district attorney.

The small-town district attorney and prosecutor -Eddie Barker- made Wilson pay for the effrontery of insisting on his innocence.

A prosecutor has the job of prosecuting the accused, though he did take it farther than he should have, I see no evidence to support your belief that this was a racial matter.

A prosecutor has the job of prosecuting the accused, though he did take it farther than he should have, I see no evidence to support your belief that this was a racial matter.You did read the article, right?

You did read the article, right?

When I said I saw no evidence to support his claim, I was referring to what I quoted him referring to:

The small-town district attorney and prosecutor -Eddie Barker- made Wilson pay for the effrontery of insisting on his innocence.

That sentence there is not evidence at all for racism.

Now, it could be a racial matter. I will not deny that, though the issue does not rest with just him. The jury were the ones who convicted him, and it wasn't just one person that did that. Now it easily could be about race - I'm not denying that it could be, but I'd like to see FT put together a little more evidence before I see him calling every dick and jane a racist.

When I said I saw no evidence to support his claim, I was referring to what I quoted him referring to:

The small-town district attorney and prosecutor -Eddie Barker- made Wilson pay for the effrontery of insisting on his innocence.

That sentence there is not evidence at all for racism.

Now, it could be a racial matter. I will not deny that, though the issue does not rest with just him. The jury were the ones who convicted him, and it wasn't just one person that did that. Now it easily could be about race - I'm not denying that it could be, but I'd like to see FT put together a little more evidence before I see him calling every dick and jane a racist.Okay. This is from the article:

But there are also other cases of adults—white adults—prosecuted by the Douglas County District Attorney’s office for sex crimes involving minors and received far lighter sentences than any of the teens in the Douglasville Six case.

Case in point: Jack Stewart, a 24-year-old volunteer coach at Heirway Christian Academy in Douglas County, who received 30 days in jail and 10 years probation for fondling the 15-year-old daughter of a couple whose house he was living at temporarily. McDade notes that he objected in court to the “inappropriately light” sentence.

In the case of 26-year-old George Tsimpides, First Offender status was extended in a sex crime. Tsimpides received 20 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to luring a 15-year-old girl he’d met on the Internet to Arbor Place Mall with the intention of engaging in sex with her. McDade says he publicly objected to that sentence.

Now, that's not proof of racism but it is evidence that supports the charge. And the prosecutor decided what to charge the kid with as well as what pleas to offer. It also sounds like the jury was unaware of the mandatory sentence when they convicted him -- not that it should matter, but it does.