Saturday, September 8, 2007

Tragedy Reveals Hypocrisy of Police VIolence

So, two Oklahoma police officers face up to (and most likely will receive) up to four years in prison for the accidental shooting death of a five year old child. Apparently the officers tried to kill a snake with their gun and the bullet ricocheted and hit the child in the head. This is awful and tragic and the cops were clearly negligent. However, to me this creates a positive precedent that is woefully ignored when, for instance, the victim is black or brown and the shooting is intentional. Not to capitalize on this incident or anything, but this truly shows the bankruptcy and racism of the criminal justice system : accidentally shoot white kid = prison. Intentionally shoot or beat black person (or legally lynch them with the death penalty) = walk, scot free.