14-year-old Texas girl gets 7 years in prison for shoving hall monitor

[Guest LadyC]

FOC, please read what was written without jumping to preformed conclusions. you obviously haven't paid any attention to the intentional inaccuracies that were pointed out about the article, have no clue (because you either didn't read this thread or you intentionally overlooked it) that the kid was well known for being a disciplinary problem at that school long before this incident, etc. etc.

you apparently missed my opinion on the sentence the little arsonist was given, as well as my opinion on the LENGTH of the sentence that the girl who went to juvie got.

clearly you like to read one source, decide to take it at face value without checking the facts, and believe everything that the media tells you.

the tantrum you just aimed at me was well off the wall.

[MorningGlory]

i read over it, and found nothing unusual. tragic? yes. unfair? yes. but this isn't a race issue. it's a judgement issue. as good as a system as we have, it is flawed. there aren't good enough standards across the board regarding what kind of sentences judges can impose. that's why some pedophile who admits to sexually abusing a child for 7 years gets off without serving any time. it's why members of the 311 gang who brutally beat and maimed other teenagers get off with a slap on the wrist. while another judge in another courtroom even in the same city might have imposed a maximum sentence. it's why a drug dealer can get off with probation while an unsuspecting wife can get a life sentence just because she answered a phone and took a message for hubby to call someone. (and trust me, millions of wives are in the dark about their husbands involvement in drugs.)

the system needs some changes made to it. no doubt about it. but that doesn't make it about race. the chicago tribune article DID make it about race. they pulled out a select number of cases to report on in order to make a terrible thing look like it could only have ONE cause. racism. and that is just as much a travesty of justice as the judges who impose ridiculous sentences.

i'm a native texan. i lived there for the first 36 or so years of my life. i've seen people treated equally unfairly in the judicial system regardless of colour.

So you're from Texas. And am I correct in guessing you're white? ...With a different background you might be ranting a little differently.

I don't want to make this a race debate because I think everyone here can clearly see that racism was at work in Shaquanda's fate. But you can believe whatever you'd like, LadyC.

Well, I'm a white Texan too and I'm here to tell you that racism is alive and well here in the Lone Star State. It has gotten a lot better since the 80's but it's still here. If that child was a blond haired white girl I believe the sentence would have been less harsh, IMHO.

[jeffnevins]

Maybe I'm just a Junior Member, but this is one of the most bizarre news stories I've ever heard.

I read that no injuries were sustained & she has no previous record.

I don't care what color a person is & what country or state they're in, this doesn't make sense to me.

7 days or weeks in detention, but some murderers, rapists & moleters walk free inside of 7 years.

God loves justice. This is just- weird.

[peaches]

that is exactly what i would say jeff.

today in the papers, there was guy who was found guilty for murdering his ailing 93y/o mom and was given time already spent.

i agree...this is just plain weird.

[Leonard]

given all the possible appeals in our legal system, and all the free legal help available (as long as headlines can be grabbed!), I think the girl has a darned good chance of coming out of this with a bunch of money in hand!

[LossForWords]

It's under appeal right now. I wouldn't be surprised if she was let off and then her mother sues the system (judicial and school). But of course we won't hear about that...

[The Lorax]

I agree with FoC. This thread depresses me, and not just the article.

I find this comment so funny. You don't believe that crimes should be punished?

Never said that.

I believe the punishment should fit the crime.

maybe our system needs to overhaul the adult prisons to be modeled after the juvies.

The system does need an overhaul, but not the kind you are talking about. The correctional system actually needs to correct people, not lock them up for years then send them out on the street as hardened thugs.

Edited March 22, 2007 by The Lorax

[Axxman]

Judges have ALOT of discretion. Presumably, none of us were there during the trial so it isn't right or fair for us to be casting judgement on the Judge based on what we don't know. She assualted somebody. The article doesn't say the person "wasn't injured." It says they weren't "seriously injured." We are NOT TOLD what the injuries were. Most of you are participating in reverse descrimination by claiming the girl didn't deserve what she got because of her age and color. She did injure someone, by assaulting them.

The judge probably had a sentence range of 3-10 years. Probation IS NOT always an option. Alot depends on the how the charges were filed, and how good the defense is at negotiation. From everything I've read (and there is alot to read if you look for it) it looks like the defense took the "racist" angle in court...that was probably NOT the best tactic to use. We are also not aware if a plea was offered in this case, and rejected. We are not aware of her actions in court. We are not privy to ALOT of info about the case itself.

Did she apologize? Was she arrogant or remorseful? Did she laugh when her charges were read in court...or was she sad? We don't know. Because we don't know SO MANY THINGS about this trial, or even the crime itself,it is patently WRONG for anyone to putting judgement on the Judge or the judicial system...let alone calling the ordeal racist.

[Arthur Durnan]

It's not very nice going around pushing hall monitors. Who was this, Laila Ali? But yes, there might be a financial windfall there for somebody somewhere, eh, what?

http://arthurdurnan.freeyellow.com

[The Lorax]

Axxman, I wouldn't normally judge a court decision without knowing all the facts, but this is an exceptional case. Under no conditions should an act of petty assault by a minor warrant 7 years in jail. No conditions. You said there are so many things we don't know about this trial, and that's true. But none of those things could justify 7 years of jail. (If there were other crimes, they would be included in the charges. There aren't.)

You say "probation is NOT always an option." ...So? Does that mean the judge was somehow forced to send the girl to 7 years in the big house? 7? I think not.

If your moral sirens aren't going off right now, you should get them checked.

PS: Arthur, it's pretty disturbing that you would make a joke at the expense of the girl in question. Where's the compassion in this thread?

Edited March 22, 2007 by The Lorax