When a prison guard beats up a prisoner he is protected by the system. He isn't even charged with a crime. He's slapped on the wrists. If he's really bad, he might get fired.
What happens when a prisoner defends himself against a prison guard? That's easy, he gets 15 years of prison time!
In Pennsylvania there are different "justice systems" depending upon who you are. Guards and cops are pretty much exempt from decent, lawful behavior. Prisoners, by contrast are punished with savage severity and vindictiveness.
Lamont Pugh was a black prisoner from Philadelphia. While he was being held in the "hole" at the state prison at Huntington in rural white Pennsylvania, he was accused of a minor altercation with two (note that, 2!) prison guards. The guards were not charged with any crime. For his "offense," the famous Judge Steward Kurtz, sentenced the prisoner to an additional 3 1/2 to 15 years in prison.
Of course, prison guards aren't the only special class. Women get a special pampering by the system. Punishment is really reserved for males.
Another special case are the politicians. Recently O. Frank DeGarcia was charged with a number of fairly serious sexual offenses involving an under-age girl. DeGarcia was the president of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania city counsel and an important political figure. However, he was a Democrat and Pennsylvania is now manipulated by the far right-wing extremist government of the Ridge Reich. Still, being a politician, DeGarcia got very special treatment. He was allowed to plead guilty to reduced, misdemeanor charges and he got 4 years probation.
In all honesty we believe that the man was treated somewhat more harshly than the real "crime" deserves. But the point is not so much what the politician's sentence was, as how it compares with what would have happened to you or me.
There is no question but that in Pennsylvania today, a man charged as DeGarcia was, who wasn't a politician, a cop or a guard, would have gotten jail time, probably 2 years or more! A black man would also have had to pay the "race premium." He would get at least an extra year to punish him for the crime of being black; or twice as much time if his victim was a white girl!
We are not saying that DeGarcia (a pretty good man and a pretty good politician from what we can tell) was treated too lightly. We are saying that others are treated very much too harshly.
In Pennsylvania, how the system treats you and how you are punished, depends entirely upon who you are. Justice is not blind. Pennsylvania justice is a manipulative bigot!
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