NAACP Wants Probe Of "Barbie Bandits" Case

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

Georgia Chapter Asks State Why White Female Defendants Got Lighter Sentence For Bank Heist

(AP) The head of the Georgia NAACP called for the state to investigate the sentences given in the so-called "Barbie bandits" bank theft case, saying the two white defendants got less prison time than two black men.

Edward DuBose said Monday he will ask state Attorney General Thurbert Baker to look into the case.

Baker's office said Tuesday the attorney general had not received any complaints in the case.


Heather Johnston, above, received 10 years probation after she pleaded guilty to theft for her role in the 2007 heist. A judge gave 19-year-old Ashley Miller two years in jail and eight years probation. (AP Photo/Cobb County Police, HO)


Last month, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley sentenced 20-year-old Heather Johnston to 10 years probation after she pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by taking in the 2007 heist. The judge gave 19-year-old Ashley Miller two years in jail and eight years probation. Both women are white.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/08/national/main4001371.shtml

[Taverner]

1. Pretty Blondes: America's dwindling resource. More after this break on Fox...

[DrCory]

21. Peak Blond??? N/T

[Faygo Kid]

2. Two weeks of shows for Greta Van Susteran

Your Scientology connection at Faux News.

[bingowas-hisname-o]

3. Juries should contain persons of all races

I have always been wary of juries comprised of 90% or 100% of people of one race. consciously or not.

[jimnasium]

4. Because they're too pretty to go to prison...

:rofl:

[-..__...]

15. MY EYES!!!

:freak:



No wonder they had to rob a bank... they sure as hell couldn't be making much in tips...

"It all began, Johnston said, with her night job — one that was kept secret from her family. She began stripping at a club, enticed by the prospect of making upward of $1,000 in a few days. When her family finally confronted her, telling her to stop or move out, the choice was easy. Johnston left home.

"I went wild. I was on drugs most of the time. I didn't care what anyone had to say. I was going to do it my way."

Johnston moved in with Ashley Miller, another stripper from the club. It wasn't long before drug abuse and lighthearted jokes became a catalyst for crime, and a joke about robbing a bank turned into reality. Johnston now faces up to 10 years in jail".

[Quantess]

18. Both of them have ruined their beauty on drugs.

They might have been pretty if they didn't have meth corroding from their skin. Yeeesh! They should be poster girls for the "Faces of Meth" campaign.
http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/MethResources/faces/index.html

[MikeNearMcChord]

5. After Health care reform, we need Legal reform.

If you are Black or Latino(poor white also), you are basically SOL.

[Elspeth]

6. It may not be race: it may be who was in the leadership positions

and who got suckered into it. But time will tell.

[sendero]

9. It was gender...

.. and that's all.

[Elspeth]

11. I doubt it.

Usually in violent crime it is the males that are the movers and shakers and the females that drive the getaway car and do the time for their boyfriends. (There are all sorts of articles on this, and it's a very common pattern.) This is not always true, of course, but it sounds like it was in this case and that was why the judge made a decision.

[Pavulon]

7. Mitigating / aggravating

background of all criminals involved is relevant. Race is (should) not.

[skoalyman]

8. Poor barbie ken must of lost his job

hard times all around:rofl:

[booley]

10. could it also be because they were women?

Maybe it's just me but it seems part of sexism is the idea that women are less responsible for their actions, that they have to be goaded into something by a man. Not to mention the attitude that women are weaker and so shouldn't be treated the same as a man.

Though I would also point out that it could have been race and gender.

[NOLALady]

12. I don't know.

I have serious doubts that a black woman would not be treated the same as a black man.

[booley]

19. and yet

The biggest onus of racism in our justice system falls on black MEN.

Black men are more likely to go to jail. Black men are more likely to be harassed or mistreated by the police.

This does not mean black women are never victims of racism. But when it comes to punishment, Black men seem to get far more then their fair share.

[Xithras]

13. As has already been mentioned, gender trumps race...but both are a factor. It's been researched.

cite: http://www.terry.uga.edu/~mustard/sentencing.pdf

Most relevant to this discussion: "The female-male difference is statistically significant for all six categories, the largest of which is for bank robbery, where females receive 21.6 months less than males."

Gender is the source of the biggest sentencing disparities, followed distantly by race, and then citizenship. A white man is statistically likelier to get a lighter sentence than a black man, but a black woman will get a lighter sentence than either one of them. A white woman will get a slightly lighter sentence than a black woman, though the difference in that situation would be fairly small.

[-..__...]

14. Looks like both men had prior convictions.

Prior convictions and jail time aren't allowed to be mentioned during a trial, however, if found guilty, a judge is allowed to take it into consideration during sentencing...

"Michael Chastang, 28, was sentenced to 10 years for being the mastermind of the robbery, and bank teller Bennie Allen III, 23, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years. Both men are black. Chastang also is serving 15 years on unrelated drug-trafficking charges and Allen was on probation for a drug conviction".

What I don't get (at least from this article), is how the fuck did Allen get a job as a bank teller to begin with?

[saigon68]

16. He probably had a gun too

Not however purchased through an FFL

[AngryAmish]

17. Hot chicks shouldn't go to jail.

It is the foundation of our legal system back to the Magna Carta.

[samsingh]

20. kick