Quote:
Originally Posted by FAX
So ... I work with a black audio engineer from time to time. He is now 35 years old, but when he was 19, he was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell.
What the popo actually found was a roach, some seeds and twigs, and a set of scales in his home. He had been stopped for a traffic violation, they found the roach in the car, asked him for permission to search his apartment and he granted them permission without thinking about the scales or feeling any sense of guilt.
A few procedural steps later, he's in court for jury selection (he could not afford a private attorney and was represented by a public defender). This occurred in Shelbyville Tennessee ... a very, very conservative town. The jury pool included only 7 black persons. During voir dire, it was determined by the judge that each of those 7 people were either distant family members (3rd cousins and the like) or friends of the family. (Not a big black population in Shelbyville.) End result? Zero black jury members.
Convicted. Sentenced to 7 years. Out in 4. Probation for the remainder. Could not find a job for years because of his record.
Now, this is a very intelligent guy who actually got two degrees while incarcerated and speaks on behalf of the Department of Corrections promoting an initiative that educates prisoners. Nice dude. Utterly harmless. Entire life screwed up to this point.
The moral of the story is that a courtroom is not a comfortable or pleasant place to find yourself if you're a young black kid in a conservative community.
This is a factor that a lot of people are overlooking in this Tyreek deal, IMHO.
FAX
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Okay, I have to ask, why did he have scales?
Don't take that as I don't believe he was wronged. I do, actually, but that's because I don't think MJ should be illegal. I think the whole drug war is a joke that has put a lot of people in jail that shouldn't have been put there. Still, if he has scales then that is an indication that he was weighing something.
