Reader Rigby Maguire asks that I post the following comment in his name. Since the comment is critical but civil, and we like to encourage the freedom to speak dissenting views, I decided that I would:
Nowhere in the guidelines quoted in your post or the original article
do I see anything that states that one race should be given
preferential sentences. (If that's actually happening, I'd like to see
the data on it, and I agree that it should be stopped.) I interpret
those guidelines differently, but, again, I'd be interested in seeing
actual data from Hennepin County's sentencing record. It's simply a
fact, not opinion, that study after study has shown that judges are
more likely to sentence minority criminals than white criminals to
prison and jail. Study after study shows that black men statistically
receive harsher prison sentences than white men who have committed the
exact same crimes and who have equivalent criminal history. I could
provide links, but I have no doubt that you are aware of these
studies.
The way I read the Hennepin County guidelines (and I
understand that you read them very differently) is that prosecutors
must be mindful of these historical disparities, take the defendant's
race into account to ensure that no unconscious biases are in play,
and that equivalent crimes receive equivalent sentences. Admittedly,
the language is a little squishy/touchy-feely, and I understand the
criticism that it has sparked, but the above interpretation is
honestly how I read it. However, if a thorough review of the actual
sentences that have been handed down since this guidance was issued
reveals any racial preferences, I agree that the guidelines should be
scrapped immediately.
On another subject, the out-of-left-field swipe
at Christine Blasey Ford fell flat for me, but I suppose all humor is
Are you thinking of the Woody Allen film Bananas when he tries to discreetly buy copies of "Orgasm" and "Modern Sperm" and the clerk bellows out a request for the price?
I wish I could say that I am surprised, but I am not. Having been subjected to innumerable hours of social justice and implicit bias awareness training required by the California legislature by cadres of "experts,"Minnesota is just now starting to catch up. Very sad.
Reader Rigby Maguire asks that I post the following comment in his name. Since the comment is critical but civil, and we like to encourage the freedom to speak dissenting views, I decided that I would:
Nowhere in the guidelines quoted in your post or the original article
do I see anything that states that one race should be given
preferential sentences. (If that's actually happening, I'd like to see
the data on it, and I agree that it should be stopped.) I interpret
those guidelines differently, but, again, I'd be interested in seeing
actual data from Hennepin County's sentencing record. It's simply a
fact, not opinion, that study after study has shown that judges are
more likely to sentence minority criminals than white criminals to
prison and jail. Study after study shows that black men statistically
receive harsher prison sentences than white men who have committed the
exact same crimes and who have equivalent criminal history. I could
provide links, but I have no doubt that you are aware of these
studies.
The way I read the Hennepin County guidelines (and I
understand that you read them very differently) is that prosecutors
must be mindful of these historical disparities, take the defendant's
race into account to ensure that no unconscious biases are in play,
and that equivalent crimes receive equivalent sentences. Admittedly,
the language is a little squishy/touchy-feely, and I understand the
criticism that it has sparked, but the above interpretation is
honestly how I read it. However, if a thorough review of the actual
sentences that have been handed down since this guidance was issued
reveals any racial preferences, I agree that the guidelines should be
scrapped immediately.
On another subject, the out-of-left-field swipe
at Christine Blasey Ford fell flat for me, but I suppose all humor is
subjective. ###
Are you thinking of the Woody Allen film Bananas when he tries to discreetly buy copies of "Orgasm" and "Modern Sperm" and the clerk bellows out a request for the price?
I wish I could say that I am surprised, but I am not. Having been subjected to innumerable hours of social justice and implicit bias awareness training required by the California legislature by cadres of "experts,"Minnesota is just now starting to catch up. Very sad.
My hearing is pretty bad, and if I were required to attend something like that, I would just quietly take out my hearing aids.
This is horrendous. And they are saying it (Hennipen) with a straight face
I think the face might change once they wind up in front of a federal grand jury.