In an interesting turn of events, a Pennsylvania judge rejected a plea offered to a white man on the grounds that a black man would be unlikely to get the same plea bargain. And he was probably right -- the charge was fighting with an officer while resisting arrest, for which a 3 month probation was offered as a sentence. Although we obviously don't know how this would have played out had the defendant been another race, we do know that minorities, especially African Americans, and especially African American men, are generally treated far more hrashly in the courtroom than their white peers.
Of course, this argument didn't fly with our judicial system, so the judge recused himself and was replaced by a white judge who accepted the plea. Sigh...
And just in case you're wondering if race truly does color (no pun intended) our view of people, check out this especially offensively racist political attack ad (complete with handy comparison to Jesse Helm's infamous white hands ad). The more things change...
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