Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Judge was "deeply offended" by victim impact statement

Did a Kentucky Judge give armed robbers a light sentence because a 3 yr-old victim was too racist?


 
After the jump I've included a statement from the video page
A Kentucky judge blamed two parents for their young girl's "constant fear of black men" after an armed robbery she witnessed, local reports said.

The parents argued for a tougher sentence for the man convicted of busting into their Louisville home at gunpoint while their daughter watched "Spongebob Square Pants," according to the Courier-Journal.

Judge Olu Stevens blasted Jordan and Tommy Gray's victim impact statement at a court hearing in February and again recently in a Facebook post he later deleted.

"Whenever we are running errands, if we come across a black male, she holds me tight and begs me to leave," Gray wrote in February of her daughter. "It has affected her friendships at school and our relationships with African-American friends."Stevens, who is a black man, was "deeply offended."

"This little girl certainly has been victimized, and she can't help the way she feels," Stevens said, according to video obtained by the Courier-Journal. "My exception is more with her parents and their accepting that kind of mentality and fostering those type of stereotypes."

Stevens contends the statement played no role in his decision to sentence the robber, 27-year-old Gregory Wallace, who pleaded guilty to the March 21, 2013, crime, to only five years' probation. He defended his actions, grounded with five years on the bench, with a statement early Saturday that said he "will not be intimidated" by negative backlash.

"As for my "wrath", I had none. I leave wrath to the Commonwealth's Attorney and others disgruntled by the ultimate decision. I did not criticize the child. I cautioned the parents against racial stereotyping," Stevens wrote on Facebook. "If necessary, I will stand alone. I have no animus toward anyone. I have consistently been here for over five years. I look forward to continuing to see you on this medium and in court."

Supporters of the parents are reportedly calling for Stevens to be removed from office.

20 comments:

Methadras said...

A judge should be objective when it comes to victim impact statements and frankly, the entire sentiment of a victim impact statement is so Orwellian in its approach that it borders on absurdity. Either way, this judge will be avoided at all costs when it comes to prosecutors shopping for the best conviction/sentencing guidelines.

bagoh20 said...

Unless he's equally frightened of black women he's sexist not racist.

Amartel said...

Out of control and overbearing judicial presumption. He leapt from the child's fear of black men to presuming that it was the parents' fault, disregarding the obvious superseding cause. Why?And if it didn't impact his sentencing then why mention it? He allows his unsupported personal feelings to interfere with doing his job and thus lacks appropriate judical temperament. He should be removed from office.

Amartel said...

Illogical, punitive, and emotion-based judging.

Rabel said...

It does not make sense. The judge is faulting the parents for reporting the effect on the child.

That does not make sense ... hey, wait a minute, did the perp's lawyer use the Chewbacca defense in the sentencing hearing and leave the judge totally confused. That would explain everything. Brilliant. Evil, but brilliant.

Trooper York said...

This is nothing new. Turn Em Loose Bruce was a fixture in NY turning violent criminals loose to prey on innocents again. He did it because they were black. Straight racist identity politics.

Obama and Holder gave you the same thing on a national scale.







Synova said...

What is this bullshit? The parents can not MAKE a 3 year old understand that she doesn't need to be afraid of people who look like violent thugs who scared her and scared her parents. Parents can't do that for a 3 year old. They are three. Maybe at six or seven a parent could talk to a child about how the bad person who did the bad thing was in jail and those other men are different people and won't hurt her.

AllenS said...

This type of judge will sentence a 3 year old to hard time if he finds the child in a park alone.

Aridog said...

Amartel said...

Illogical, punitive, and emotion-based judging.

Absolutely agree. We hold 3 year olds accountable for their fears? Blame the parents for something they did not do? It was real event in that child's life, and the judge blames the statement as evidence of parental bias? WTF? Our world has gone insane.

The parent was telling a story of how the event influenced his child in a way he did not like...none-the-less had no control over on the spot. The judge totally missed that salient point.

In this case, Lady Justice not only removed her blindfold, but had her thumb on the scale to boot.

I'd love to meet this judge and tell him how wrong he was and is on the subject. My first evidence would be the simple fact I am frequently more at ease among black people in the city than white jackasses. This judge-guy has no clue and lives in his own little world of fear. I'd almost bet he lives in a very white suburb himself, far from the inner city...and has no real contact with anything inner city. My kid lives in the core of the inner city and likes it...this Judge is either nuts or irredeemably biased without actual experience.

Oh, wait, he got insulted once upon a time when some white guy didn't hug him on an elevator. If I ever see him outside a fancy place with valet parking I'll be sure to hand him my valet ticket to get my truck...why not, eh...he's convinced that's what I think. False, but accurate in his mind.

There is no cure for stupid. I am convinced.

ricpic said...

The fact that this judge will not be impeached gives the game away that we all live in Black Run America. What that means is not only that blacks are your mortal enemies, all disingenuous liberal whites are your mortal enemies as well. Of course, if you're Schmendrik it's paradise. But if you have a shred of decency in you it is a call to OVERTHROW THE OBSCENITY!

KCFleming said...

Derbyshire was right.

edutcher said...

Maybe it's time all of us "deeply offended" by the Left start acting on it.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

The famous "Little Albert" experiment comes to mind.

The judge might well be dumb on top of everything else.

chickelit said...

The judge reminded me of Idi Amin.

chickelit said...

There are research studies out there showing that both black and white children are instinctively afraid of the other race if there has not been interracial contact. The judge is full of shit because he's applying adult standards to child of three. Shame on him.

chickelit said...

As you all know, I'm intolerant of reverse bigotry and the way that liberals turn a blind eye to black-on-white and gay-on-straight bigotry based on minority status. I even did a couple of posts on one of those themes back in the Crack days.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Black Americans are exceedingly odd people in certain ways. They seem to utterly reject the concepts of "reputation" and "setting an example in one's community".

If the perps had been white she might have become anxious around men generally. She can't help it if there was something more immediately noticeable about the perpetrators. It's not white people's fault for being more numerous, less easy to point out and blending in more easily.

All of these things would be moot if blacks Americans simply decided that community reputation mattered to them and they were interested in setting a good example, and achieving the things that other successful communities made it a priority to accomplish. But school is wack.

Aridog said...

R & B....we are, very slowly, seeing what you describe as the sane pathway here in my hometown of Detroit. I hope that it can continue. It is very hard to grow up here without interracial contact. The rest of it hinges on what you said.

PS: First I agree with Issac, now with "R&B"...are there "meds" for this? Or is it a break through where we can discuss things without acrimony? Surprise me with the latter all y'all, please.

Aridog said...

R & B said...

If the perps had been white she might have become anxious around men generally.

Good point. Without getting in to a debate about behavioral science, I've know a dog who reacted negatively to men in general...only warming up if the men near him were calm and collected...and welcomed by his owner.

Now if said man/men had the smell of beer on them, nothing the owner could do .... that dog would not let the beer smelling guy in the hose or yard. Period.

BTW he was the great Wolf/German Shepherd hybrid I rescued and have mentioned before. I gathered him up, as a 6 month old pup, and found him a great new home...one reason for the intervention was the original owner was a beer drunk who couldn't handle him and tried to compel behavior and when not satisfied he'd kick the pup. The pup grown to very large dog remembered.

He lived for 14 years and raised two boys from infancy as his charges, always gently.

Aridog said...

I should add that "Shadow" the Wolf hybrid was one of those dogs I continued to love even when no longer mine. He never forgot me, even when I didn't visit for a year or two...we made our original bond in the Manistee National Forest when I came across him as a 10 week old pup, with his original owner...who I knew couldn't handle the hybrid and thus I just awaited my time. I only wish I could see him one more time, but he is gone now....just as "Ari" is gone.