Opinion Talk

By tom

May 7, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

I don’t know if the deck is stacked only against an African-American but you can see every day that we have two systems of justice, one for the rich and one for everyone else.

By tom

May 7, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this

I don’t know if the deck is stacked only against an African-American but you can see every day that we have two systems of justice, one for the rich and one for everyone else.

By S

May 7, 2008 10:24 AM | Link to this

NO ONE can trust the system, regardless of race, religion, etc! Just watch the movie that was on Lifetime last night - “Guilt by Association” - which while perhaps fictional COULD VERY REALISTICALLY happen to ANYONE!

By Info

May 7, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

Driving with something hanging from your rear view mirror is asking to get pulled over. It’s technically illegal in almost every state on the eastern sea board. Yes it’s used to profile, but don’t be stupid and give the cops a reason to pull you over. Remove stuff from your rear view mirror while you drive, replace it once you park. Don’t make life harder than it is.

By Peter

May 7, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this

I agree with the first blogger……. Justice for the Rich, the famous, or the President’s boys, is far different than justice for the rest of American’s !

By RealityKing

May 7, 2008 11:54 AM | Link to this

Only fools put their trust in the government.., regardless of color.

By kerry

May 7, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

I’m with S. It takes a certain personality to be a cop and the violent psychos are attracted to the security industry as pedophiles are to teaching kids and they (violent psychos) often get past the screening process if there is one. And I agree w/Info: Have you noticed that if a cop is on the highway driving 5 mmiles below the limit that no one will pass? Don’t even think about it.

By RCH

May 7, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this

It is amazing how different I am treated when after I am pulled over in a KIA and the officer learns where I live and what other vehicles I own. And I am white!

Take a look at the beating by 15 officers in Philadelphia. It seems pretty simple to me.But a spokesman for the Mayor said: Oliver said that, while the use of force appeared excessive, the public should withhold judgment until all the facts are known. “We are not going to prejudge the situation based on the video,” he said. “We all saw the video, but none of us was there.”

I guess I better not believe my lying eyes. LOL

By Robert

May 7, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this

It sounds bad but one has to admit that cops have it rough in some cities. If you make them chase you, shoot at them or just want to be a thug then expect some rough treatment.

By Tony

May 7, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this

A couple of weeks ago, I was pulled over for not having my seat belt on. I was flabbergasted… Didn’t this guy have anything else better to do than issue me a $15 ticket? He also asked a lot of questions, and I was sure he was looking for something else to ticket me on. But hey, I just kept my mouth shut and wrote it off as meaningless blotted bureaucratic self perpetuation.., at my expense!

Or maybe I was being profiled too.., a middle aged, middle classed white guy??

By Chris Salzmann

May 7, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

I agree with the 1st post about there being 2 systems of justice: One for the rich and one for the poor. It also doesn’t help if you’re part of a minority (black, hispanic, etc). The statistics are just too damning to ignore that fact.

By tax payer

May 7, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this

There is no justice on a local level as well…Cherokee County Ga. Judge John Sumner appears to get pleasure out of removing children from their parents. He throws them into a foster care system, and makes sure that they have nothing but chaos. This assures him that they will be back as juvenile delinquents. I guess that is what you call job security.

By BarneyFife

May 7, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this

41 shots is a bit trigger happy for even me, but…

Amadou Diallo, Rodney King and Jeffrey Gilbert all had something else in common besides their color. They resisted arrest!

Don’t do that!!

By Eric Hughes

May 7, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this

You ask, Mr. Pitts, why you should even try to trust American justice? Because if you don’t even try to believe it can be better than it is and has been, then you might as well be that “idiot rapper” you cite because you will have already given up. And if enough of us give up trying; then our entire society is already dying and we are just arguing over the patient’s symptoms. Don’t give up believing in the ideals of America; liberty and justice for all. Not just for those “who resemble me not at all” (your words, but an apt description of me) but truly for all. If enough of us continue to believe that it can be, then it must be and eventually it will be. Keep the faith, but always keep questioning.

By Truth Teller

May 7, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this

Since there appears to be greater instances of blacks shooting blacks and others —- the perception is that more blacks are packing, are more dangerous and this causes greater caution, sometimes to excess, by the police officers who, above all else, want to go home to the wives and children at the end of the shift.

When a policeman has to go into a crime laden, drug infested neighborhood, the stress levels and potential for violence ecalate.

I’m not excusing excess —- just stating the facts.

By James

May 7, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this

Mr. Pitts:

First - When you find another country in this world with a better system, with more rights for the accused, with the right to a court appointed attorney, a trial by jury instead of judges, with habeas corpus rules, with the evidence “exclusionary” rule, with the right to appeal and with the types of prisons we have which provide food (yes, some other countries don’t - if your friends or relatives don’t bring it you starve), recreation and medical care - then you let me know! You would be “appalled” at the systems in other countries (even Europe) as compared to ours.

Second - For every so called problem with “justice” involving African-Americans there are dozens of cases where they are allowed to plea bargain down, or are acquitted. Victims of “their” crimes (white and black) see that as INJUSTICE! It happens across the board.

By Boots

May 7, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this

Hell, I’m a 66 year old white man and I don’t trust the criminal justice system, either.

I have respect for honorable police officers, lawyers, DA’s, judges and juries; but I’ve seen absolute injustice done by police officers, DA’s, judges and stupidity by jurors.

I don’t trust the system , but it’s all we have, so we must demand better from all concerned and if they don’t give it, resign them to the trash-heap of worn-out and discarded politicians.

By Nobody

May 7, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this

T.I like the segragated justice system. He didn’t go to jail for being a convicted felon while trying to buy illegl automatic assault rifles.

By Give me a break

May 7, 2008 2:22 PM | Link to this

Hey Leonard,

I’m way ahead of you. I lost my faith in the justice system when a perfectly good jury failed to convict an obviously guilty “man” of murder several years ago. You might remember the case: OJ Simpson? Yeah, I thought so.

By Scrappy

May 7, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this

S and Kerry you are pathetic. The same people that compare policemen to pedophiles and cries injustice are the same ones that come calling for help when it suits there needs. Policemen and women put their lives on the line to protect the innocent, I for one am grateful they are there.

By Mike

May 7, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

What a load of racist nonsense.

How about Brian Nichols. You know, the convicted rapist who killed a judge, a deputy, a clerk and an innocent homeowner. Tons of witnesses. Tons of videotape. He is guilty as sin and everyone knows it.

He is getting a mult-million dollar defense from our “evil” government.

Enough of the liberal racism at the AJC.

By Pumpkin

May 7, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this

Mr. Pitts is absolutely correct. We may not like the outcome of a legal case, but if fairly derived, we can live with it. However, if a judge unfairly rules for or against an individual, whether they’re black or white, male or female, it is a gross injustice. And money DOES play a large part. If you don’t have enough to hire the fancy lawyers to fight back, you automatically lose.

By Mama Bear

May 7, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this

NO MONEY!! NO JUSTICE!!

By cherokee

May 7, 2008 3:01 PM | Link to this

Pumpkim must live in Cherokee County!

By cherokee

May 7, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

Pumpkin must live in Cherokee County!

By REdwards

May 7, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this

“There is little left to build on, save bitterness. We must speak for them and raise the questions they cannot raise. These, too, are our brothers…” MLKjr. That is why we must trust and question American justice.

By RCH

May 7, 2008 3:23 PM | Link to this

Scrappy

You may want to rethink your statement. Police carry guns to protect themselves not you. They are under no legal or moral obligation to put their lives on the line for you.

Remember the riots in South Central L.A. when the police pulled out of hot zones leaving business owners( Koreans) to defend themselves? They ran like chickens when the shooting started.

By Constructive Feedback

May 7, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this

It is puzzling to me, an African American, as to why Leonard Pitts can find cause to talk about the US Justice system as it relates to Sean Bell and other Blacks who were killed by the police over the past 20 years…..but stay relatively silent regarding the thousands of Blacks who have been killed during this same time and the high proportion of them who’s killers are never brought to justice. Where as it is understandable for the police to have higher expectations placed upon them the quantity of killings by those who obviously don’t have any expectations placed upon them and their actions proves to be more deadly

By Jeff

May 7, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this

Dear Mr. Pitts: First, let me say I’m a middle-aged, middle-class white man, and I agree with you that the system isn’t fair. I think it’s stacked against minorities and the poor. Having said that, I have three comments:

1) Minorities are over-represented in police forces in the US. According to Dept. of Justice stats, blacks comprise 20% of the police force, and Hispanics 14%, both of which are higher than their proportion in the general population. Any bias in the system can’t be because of a lack of representation.

2) You say, “People don’t participate in systems they don’t trust. They don’t come forward; they don’t testify. So criminals go uncaptured; crimes, unpunished. Yet some black people apparently find that preferable to participating in a system they believe is rigged against them. I don’t agree with them…”

Well, that last statement’s obviously false. Clearly, you do agree, as you said so yourself in “An Open Letter to African American Men”: “No, it’s not fair that we are held to a different standard. Say that loudly and clearly. Fight to make it right. But do not stop there. You see, when you discover that a game is rigged against you, you have every right to complain that you’re being cheated. But a smart man does one thing more: A smart man stops playing.”

How do you expect people to interpret that statement? Moreover, how does not participating help make things better?

3) You rightly complain, but you don’t offer any solutions. Put your ideas on the table, Mr. Pitts; I’m sure you have some. That will give us something to consider and debate! I’m with you in spirit, but now what? Surely complaining and dropping out can’t be all you have to offer.

By Winston Smith

May 7, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this

Statistically, who commits the most violent crimes? Profiling exists. Maybe not as official policy but in the back of everyone’s minds. That’s just the way it is. Paying for the sins of others sucks. Paying taxes sucks. Oh, well….

By whoa

May 7, 2008 5:33 PM | Link to this

I trust the justice system. I trust it so much that i make sure I do everything possible to stay clear of it.