The criminal justice system has been broken for decades in our country. The most glaring injustice is sentencing, especially when it comes to race. Drug sentencing has devastated the African-American community. Yet, the outrage for such an imbalance in sentencing seems to hardly get the attention of mainstream America. People seem to doubt the accuracy of such claims that the color of your skin is a barrier to justice.
The recent sentencing of two 19 year old rapists are clearly an example of what role race plays in our justice system. Brock Turner, a white male was an athlete from Stanford. He raped a woman as she was unconscious. In fact, he raped her behind a dumpster. Clearly not a nice guy. Corey Batey is an African American college athlete that raped a woman as she was unconscious.
Brock Turner was sentence to 6 months in county jail. He could be released for good behavior in 3 months. Many were outraged. The judge's explanation was that at such a young age, a longer sentence would have a negative impact on the young man's life. Contrast that with the sentence for Corey Batey. He was given 15-25 years for the same crime.
U.S sentencing for African-Americans are 20% longer than their white counterparts. In the case of Turner and Batey, the difference is 3000% for the same crime. For those frustrated by Black Lives Matter, maybe it is time to see why so many African Americans are frustrated by a broken system of justice.
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