No doubt that there is a disconnect in the criminal justice system between people of color and white people.
History continuously repeats itself when a white person is convicted or acquitted of a crime.
When Brock Turner was sentenced to a measly 60 days in jail for rape and the judge empathized with him by rewarding him a second chance, that was a disgrace. When George Zimmerman‘s attorneys got away with twisting the stand-your-ground law and the prosecutors sat back and allowed shenanigans in the courtroom that ultimately got the bastard acquitted, that was a disgrace. When Ethan Couch was initially given probation for killing four people in a drunk driving crash after his defense team used the affluenza defense, that was also a disgrace.
But, when Robert Spellman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing $600 worth of cigarettes, Florida law found it just since he had a long criminal history — 45 priors to be exact. Then there’s Crystal Mason who was convicted for knowingly voting in the 2016 election as a felon, Texas found it fit to send her to prison for 5 years. Let’s definitely acknowledge Sharanda Jones whose first criminal offense, again in Texas, has landed her a life sentence in a federal lock up for one sale of cocaine.
See where I’m going here?
However, when a celebrity (no matter their ethnic background) gets in trouble, the community-at-large hangs on to the edge of their seats with hopes that their favorite athlete, actor or musician gets the same treatment as white people.
Robert Downey Jr. was arrested and sent to jail during his tenure as a Hollywood actor, yet he wasn’t blackballed in the industry, kids know him as Ironman. In the 1970s, Tim Allen was locked up for drug trafficking, but he went on to still have a lucrative television career in Home Improvement and now Last Man Standing. And let’s not forget Martha Stewart‘s five-month stint in jail for conspiracy, now she is all of a sudden down with the homies cracking jokes with Snoop Dogg on MTV and President Trump is seeking to pardon her conviction.
Speaking of Snoop, he beat a murder charge in the 1990s and went on to, not only write a song about it, but became a household name. Let’s not forget Robert Kelly, who was acquitted of statutory rape on an infamous sex tape, yet to this day folks will sell out his concerts.
Which brings us to the latest edition of confusing public uproar: William H. Cosby better known as Bill Cosby or Dr. Huxtable.
In the early 2000s, Andrea Constand civilly sued Cosby for raping her when she was knocked out by drugs he snuck into her drink. Pennsylvania prosecutors declined to charge Cosby, so Constand took the case to civil court. During pre-trial proceedings, Cosby admitted in a deposition what he did, threw $3.38 million at Constand in a settlement agreement and thought his roofie crimes were done getting revealed.
Almost 10 years later, comedian Hannibal Buress refreshed the public’s recollection of the Constand case and sparked other women to come forward. A newly elected Pennsylvania district attorney re-reviewed Cosby’s deposition and went forward with filing criminal charges for the Constand rape — months shy of the statute of limitations.
Fast forward, 81-year-old Cosby, once deemed “America’s Dad,” was convicted and sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison for three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
All caught up? Good.
Cue the memes saying the punishment is harsh, jokes about Constand’s appearance and questions about why now?
What’s more disheartening are the amount of people, especially women, who are as blind as Cosby and called Constand and the other countless accusers liars and opportunists.
These women have been bravely shouting — from at least since Constand’s civil case — that Cosby did the same thing to them. Most of the survivors couldn’t get their own criminal justice because of statute of limitations. Their time was now, for Constand.
To all those people sharing memes on Instagram, updating their statuses on Facebook or posting tweets on Twitter supporting a rapist, shame on you! I truly hope you don’t have any sister, aunt, cousin, friend or daughter who gets touched by your perverted uncle. If she had to turn to you for help and you’re able to look her in her beautiful eyes and call her a liar then you deserve to allow karma take over every last day of your life.
