Criminal Justice
Free 14 Year-Old Shaquanda Cotton
Today, I read the following message from Shaquanda Cotton, a 14 year-old Black girl who was sentenced to seven years in a Texas juvenile correctional institution for pushing a door guard at her high school:
About Me
Shaquanda Cotton
Paris, Texas, US
I am a 14-year-old black freshman who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. I have no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor--a 58-year-old teacher's aide--was not seriously injured.
I was tried in March 2006 in the town's juvenile court, convicted of "assault on a public servant" and sentenced by Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville to prison for up to 7 years, until I turn 21.
Just three months earlier, Judge Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family's house, to probation. Squaquanda Cotton Blog
So, I called the Texas Courthouse at which Shaquanda was sentenced and I spoke to Judge Superville's receptionist.
Open Thread | America | Black | blackosphere | Criminal Justice | injustice
