Race matters when it comes to the justice system. In August of 2012, Delvis Rodriguez-Ramos was sentenced to 180 days in jail for stealing two dollars worth of candy in Florida; a black mother in Connecticut, Tonya McDowell, was sentenced to five years in prison for sending a her child to a school outside of her district.
However, a white teen who killed his friend while driving drunk in Oklahoma will only receive 10 years probation. Tyler Alred, who was 16 at the time of accident, crashed his pick-up truck after drinking a few beers. His friend, John Luke Dum, was the passenger and he died during the crash.
Although Dum’s family didn’t want Alred to serve time in jail, a jury convicted the teen of manslaughter. Judge Mike Norman handed Alred the 10-year church sentence which is legally against the law since there should always be a separation between church and state.
Share your thoughts.
Do you think Alred would have received the same sentence of he was a minority, or should the judge be reprimanded for separation of church and state?
