Racial injustice in the courts has been commonplace for centuries in America when crimes are perpetrated against white people by black people. Racial differences in criminal court sentencing outcomes are substantial and judicial authorities routinely handle whites differently. Research supports that African Americans, especially males, are subject to particularly harsh sentencing compared to other offender populations. Moreover, African American defendants convicted of harming white victims suffer harsher penalties than blacks who commit crimes against other blacks or white defendants who harm whites.
This is even true in 2010. In Sarasota, Fla., Michael Jordan Mitchell, 19, a former Sarasota Military Academy student, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting a teenager who taunted him with a Confederate flag and directed racial slurs toward him. Mitchell pleaded no contest to aggravated battery in the April 2009 shooting of Daniel Azeff, now 19, while outside a movie theater.
According to witnesses, Azeff waved a Confederate flag from the back of his vehicle as he drove down Main Street, where he confronted Mitchell. In addition, Azeff and a friend started making “racially disparaging comments” toward Mitchell, at which time Mitchell pulled out a .22-caliber pistol and shot Azeff in the chest.
Mitchell, who did not have a criminal record, is scheduled to spend 10 years in state prison followed by five years on probation. Azeff has since recovered from his injuries.
This case is just another example of African Americans being more likely to be sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Unfortunately, even in a time when Americans can elect an African American president, racial bias in incarceration decisions still remains.
–torrance stephens, ph.d.
