Non-violent grass roots reform and Democracy: Illusion Of Justice For Sale

Even with a relatively small search quickly turns out an enormous number of wealthy people, celebrities, politicians that aren't held accountable for their crimes nearly as much as the vast majority of us.

The claim that we have equal opportunity in the eyes of the law has turned into a pathetic joke, assuming there was ever any truth to it at all!

This pathetic joke may seem very funny to those that benefit from the incredibly unequal justice system; but it is highly unlikely that the worst victims of it find it funny!

Kalief Browder is one of the most famous recent cases where the justice system destroyed a life of someone who was either innocent of the crime he was accused of, as the Democracy Now article below implies that he probably was, or only guilty of a relatively minor crime without any access to due process or bail for almost three years before they finally released him. But it was of course to late since the emotional damage from spending that time, mostly in solitary, left so much damage that it led to his suicide.

I have no doubt that a more thorough search through history will indicate that there has never truly been equal rights to justice but at times there have been attempts to improve this, or as it often seems to turn out create the illusion of improvement when there is little or no improvements. One of the most effective improvements that actually did reduce inequalities, at least for a while is the Miranda v. Arizona decision which gave people the right to a lawyer if they couldn't afford one, or so we're told, and in many states it really did improve things. However I doubt if it was ever implemented as well in many other states and there are growing efforts to reduce or eliminate the few protections the poor, minorities and immigrants of what ever right they used to have.

Accused of Stealing a Backpack, Kalief Browder a High School Student Jailed for Nearly Three Years Without Trial 06/01/2014

"A School for Suicide": How Kalief Browder Learned to Kill Himself During 3 Years at Rikers Jail 03/03/2016

Kalief Browder, Held at Rikers Island for 3 Years Without Trial, Commits Suicide 06/08/2017

Mississippi County Sued for Indefinitely Holding Prisoners Without Charge or Access to Lawyer 10/01/2014

Additional stories from Democracy Now about Kalief Browder or epidemic injustices in the mass incarceration age.

Edit 03/29/2019: Jussie Smollett is one more on the long list of celebrities or millionaires with political connections that had charges dropped that few other people could even think of beating! Rahm Emmanuel made a big deal about being outraged by his using political connections, which are also close to him, to get off the hook; however he routinely does the same thing for hiss allies, including the Chicago Police, Charter School operators and Wall Street executive, clearly indicating that even if he's right on this his outrage is solely for political purposes, to get brownie points!

Kim Foxx defends Jussie Smollett decision as office says she 'did not formally recuse herself’ 03/28/2019

Ex-aide to Michelle Obama denies trying to sway outcome of Smollett case 03/27/2019

Jussie Smollett gave false information in 2007 DUI bust, claiming to be his brother 03/20/2019

Edit 04/03/2019: F. Scott Fitzgerald was clearly right as proven by reactions to college cheating scandals or Jussie Smollet and many other members of the ruling class. The latest report that they're hiring expensive consultants to advise them on how to deal with prison is a laughable idea for most of us. This is especially true since it's virtually guaranteed that unlike the rest of us, they'll almost certainly be able to buy their way out of prison and might even be able to buy their reputations back if they have enough money and allies.

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different. ” F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Rich Boy"

Parents charged in college cheating scam turn to consultant to understand prison life 04/03/2019

Parents could face tax charges, big fines in admissions scam 04/02/2019

Below are a long list of wealthy people that got off incredibly light for the crimes they committed, including murder, vehicular homicide, or accidents causing serious damage, rape, including of minors or pedophilia, and additional crimes. It didn't take long to search for these and if I do any additional searching which I probably will the list could get much longer. There are a few examples like John DuPont, Leopold and Loeb, and the Menéndez Brothers where they were convicted of crimes so big that the justice system felt they had to give them maximum sentences. Ironically in the case of the Menéndez Brothers there might have been some justification for some leniency, since there was almost certainly some truth to their claims that they were badly abused by their parents especially their father and the reason this went on so long might be because there was little or no accountability for Jose Enrique Menéndez, which may have contributed to his own murder.

In can't confirm all the details but I've seen enough research to show that children that are raised in non-abusive homes without major problems, of some sort, simply don't go on major killing sprees like this.

Anyone that pays attention to politics knows that the cost of campaigning has been skyrocketing far faster than the rate of inflation and the people that finance these campaigns don't do so because they want what's best for everyone they want "a return on our investment.” Literally coming out and saying that is supposedly what most people would consider a "Quid Pro Quo" which is what the pundits judges and politicians say they need to prove what they consider actual bribery; so the rich rarely ever say anything so obvious since it could get them prosecuted. However it doesn't take a genius to realize how weak this incredibly high bar is to prove corruption and even when it is reached they still ignore it.

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Big-Donor Education Secretary said, "We do expect something in return. ... We expect a return on our investment.” 11/23/2016 This should be so incredibly obvious that she should be prosecuted; but instead they confirmed her anyway. To the best of my knowledge even the Democrats and Bernie Sanders who at least voted against her said little or nothing about this statement or called for prosecuting her since this should be clear evidence of bribery. If this isn't bribery then nothing they could say would be considered bribery according to those that pretend to defend democracy.

Even without an admission of the famous "Quid Pro Quo" there is an incredibly obvious correlation between skyrocketing campaign contributions and efforts to increase subsidies for rich donors and cut taxes at the same time which means they have to get money from someplace else to run the government. This means that one way or another they have to get that money from the rest of the public; and one of the politically correct ways of doing this is dramatically increasing fees on poor people that are prosecuted to the full extent and beyond of the law, as indicated in the following article.

As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price 05/19/2014

In Augusta, Ga., a judge sentenced Tom Barrett to 12 months after he stole a can of beer worth less than $2.

In Ionia, Mich., 19-year-old Kyle Dewitt caught a fish out of season; then a judge sentenced him to three days in jail.

In Grand Rapids, Mich., Stephen Papa, a homeless Iraq War veteran, spent 22 days in jail, not for what he calls his "embarrassing behavior" after he got drunk with friends and climbed into an abandoned building, but because he had only $25 the day he went to court.

The common thread in these cases, and scores more like them, is the jail time wasn't punishment for the crime, but for the failure to pay the increasing fines and fees associated with the criminal justice system. Complete article

Amazingly these fees almost certainly don't even reduce the deficit or cover court costs, since they're often trying to collect them from the poor who don't have money to pay for it and it often costs almost as much if not more to try to collect money that doesn't exist then they actually collect. Furthermore if you keep trying to take from those who have nothing and little hope of getting anything then it is inevitable that they resort to crime. Under these circumstances rehabilitation takes a distant back seat, if it is tried at all, to shifting the tax burden to those without political power, even if it is justified to repay for their crimes. But if repayment for crimes was the objective then clearly those that could afford it should be required to pay much more but of course those that donate to campaigns aren't held to the same standards as the rest of us.

As Jeff Guinn reported this was almost an open secret decades ago when Terry Melcher knew he could get away with anything so he shot out streetlights scaring the neighbors just for fun without fear of being arrested. "The city’s most famous citizens, the movie and television and singing stars and their assorted producers and directors, were understood to be sacrosanct. Officers catching them in the act of drunk driving or getting in scuffles or committing any crime short of cold blooded murder in the presence of too many unimpeachable witnesses were expected to politely intervene and ensure the celebrities got home safely. ..... The driver was Terry Melcher, son of singer actress Doris Day. ... 'I'm going to get it sighted in,' Melcher proceeded to shatter several newly installed street lights. The loud booms of the shots reverberated down the hill... " "Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson" By Jeff Guinn p.114-5

In his book, (excerpts below) Glen Greenwald writes about how Scooter Libby claims he was being persecuted because he was a celebrity but Greenwald demonstrated that clearly the opposite is the case. Even though Libby got off light for the crime he was being charged with he wasn't held accountable, anymore than anyone else in the administration for starting a war based on lies that led to the death of thousands of innocent people. This is actually a common trend where celebrities claim they're being prosecuted more because they're famous and when they win they say the same justice is available for everyone like Audrey Cox in the following story:

TV reporter Audrey Cox found not guilty of DWI 06/15/2016

BRENTWOOD — TV reporter Audrey Cox was found not guilty on all counts in her aggravated DWI trial Wednesday after she was accused of striking a 79-year-old woman with her car while under the influence.

Cox, 53, of Lowell, Mass., and a veteran WMUR-TV reporter, embraced her attorney Andrew Cotrupi once the jury left the Rockingham Superior courtroom and said “thank you” through tears. She faced two Class B felonies – one of aggravated DWI or operating under the influence of liquor with serious bodily injury and one for reckless conduct. She also faced a misdemeanor DWI charge. A second Class B felony charge of aggravated DWI was dropped before the case went to trial. .....

Assistant County Attorney Karen Springer said in her closing remarks Cox’s refusal to take a Breathalyzer test was evidence of her guilt. She touched on Cotrupi’s earlier claim that Cox was “stone cold sober” at the time of the crash.

“If she was stone cold sober, what could that test have said? Zero point zero,” said Springer. “If you’re refusing to do the test that’s going to absolve you of the crime you’ve just been tried with, wouldn’t someone want to help themselves? Instead she said no.”

She also noted that Cox failed three field sobriety tests according to arresting officer Peter Moisakis, who testified this week. Moisakis said on the stand he smelled the odor of alcohol on Cox and that her eyes appeared “glassy.”

Springer said Cox’s conflicting statements on whether she had been drinking before the accident indicated she was being deceptive. Moisakis asked her at the scene of the accident whether she had been drinking, to which she replied ‘No.’ When he asked if she had anything to drink that day after she failed a field sobriety test, she said she had a glass of wine at lunch.

She noted Dary testified Cox put her hands on her hips and appeared “angry” when a bystander said an ambulance was coming.

“The media is quick to turn on its own, there’s no question about that,” Cotrupi said. “It seems like we live in a society where people very much relish in bad things happening to public figures, and I think that’s just unfortunate.” Complete article

Woman hit by WMUR reporter’s car feels ‘blessed’ to be alive 10/10/2015

Dary said Cox stopped the car, got out and approached her. “She said, ’I hit you,’” Dary recalled by phone from her home Thursday. “She wanted me to try to get up, but I couldn’t get up.”

About six other individuals approached the scene, one calling 911, Dary said.

Cox stood by, calmly encouraging her to get up, Dary said. She told Dary she wanted to drive her home, the woman recalled.

“I think she felt bad, you know, but she really, really was hoping I would just get up and walk away,” Dary said. “I would have if I could have.” ....

Cox was charged with driving while intoxicated in 2004 in Rye for crossing a double-yellow center line and making an illegal U-turn, according to Portsmouth District Court documents. That charge was reduced to negligent driving, the document states. Woman charged with DUI, hitting pedestrian 09/30/2015

Anyone that doesn't get the same preferential treatment that rich celebrities gets knows full well that they could never get treatment so lenient repeatedly But celebrities like Audrey Cox Alice Walton and many others get away with things that none of the rest of us could hope to get away with.

This even includes sex crimes where there is massive amounts of panic encouraged by the mass media when it applies to people that aren't celebrities but as several stories including the following show the same doesn't apply for the relatives of the rich including a judges daughter:

Destrehan High teacher Shelley Dufresne admits sex with student 04/09/2015

Former Destrehan High School teacher Shelley Dufresne pleaded guilty to obscenity Thursday (April 9), admitting in court that she had sex with a 16-year-old student. The plea lets her and the student avoid a public trial, and allows her to bypass registering as a sex offender and serving three years in prison.

She must spend 90 days at an inpatient mental health facility, serve three years of active probation and pay a $1,000 fine. If she fails to complete the court-approved mental health program by the end of August, she must report to the St. Charles Parish jail Sept. 1 to serve any days for which she has not received credit, Judge Anne Simon said during the plea hearing at the Hahnville courthouse.

Dufresne also agreed to surrender her teaching license. With the parents of her former student sitting in the front row of the courtroom, Dufresne admitted to having "consensual sexual intercourse with a juvenile," as detailed in the carnal knowledge law. .....

Her plea came during a status hearing in 29th Judicial District Court. It was accepted by Simon, the retired New Iberia jurist whom the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed to handle the case after the three local judges -- including Dufresne's father, Judge Emile St. Pierre -- stepped aside. ....

Separately, Dufresne and Rachel Respess, 24, are accused of having group sex with the student at Respess' Kenner apartment on Sept. 12, Dufresne's birthday. That case is pending in Jefferson Parish, where the district attorney's office has not made a decision on charging the two women.

The boy was a student in Dufresne's English class last fall, and had been a student in Respess' English class in 2013-14. Now 17, he told St. Charles Parish sheriff's deputies that he had sex with the teachers at Respess' apartment after the Destrehan Wildcats-Helen Cox Cougars football game. The Kenner Police Department report says the crime began at 9 p.m. and ended at 6 a.m. Complete article

Shelley Dufresne set for Jan. trial in Destrehan teacher-student sex case 10/20/2016

Trial set for Jeremy Eusea, former HHS teacher 03/30/2017 Former Destrehan High School teacher Kimberly Naquin was charged with having a sexual relationship with a female student in the parish. This month, she pleaded guilty to inappropriate behavior with the same student in Jefferson Parish.

How it happened: Destrehan teacher Shelley Dufresne found not guilty on all counts 04/25/2017

With all the panic about sex abuse with children few if any other sex offenders could hope to get off this easy without even having to register as a sex offender. This case isn't completely over yet; there there is apparently another trial coming up any time. It was schedule to begin a couple months ago but there are no news reports about it. An actual trial or plea would have almost certainly made the news so the most likely explanation is another delay.

As I reported in Jessie Servos Kills Principal Injures Assistant After School Paddling, which is actually a fictional story but it included some additional true research, there are far more stories about child abuse that don't make much if any news that are true or close to the truth than there are false stories that are debunked like Pizzagate. This effort to debunk false news stories without mentioning the true ones that are very similar is misleading propaganda and gives people the wrong impression. There is is additional research that indicates that many child abusers started out as abused children and learned to behave the same way as adults when they became the next generation of child abusers. Without evidence of further wrong doing it is difficult to know for certain; but there is a significant possibility that she might have been the victim before she was the perpetrator; which could potentially mean that she knows something about people, perhaps powerful people that might have abused her when she was younger, assuming this pattern is applicable.

This pattern of abuse victims becoming abusers may also be playing out in a recent story about Jerry Sandusky's son arrested, charged with child sexual abuse 02/13/2017

Most of the crimes listed below are are crimes that many other people are also involved in and receive far different treatment but there are many other examples that should be considered far worse since the damage is much bigger on an industrial scale killing thousands if not millions. This includes wars based on lies industrial accidents like the faulty ignitions which is listed below and Firestone tires also killing many people and much more environmental disasters which kill far more but they spin it and suppress the research. As I explained in The rich have a right to profit from polluting and killing the poor if a poor person poisons one rich person or anyone else they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law but when rich people do it on a massive scale it's considered good business; and the government often arrests the protesters without even stopping the pollution that kills thousands if not millions.

Many of the politicians that the media presents as some of the strongest supporters of the lower or middle class are among the worst ones when it comes to promoting the get tough on crime problems that are targeting only the lower or middle class, including Joe and Beau Biden. Joe was one of the strongest proponents of mass incarceration that targeted the class he was supposedly the champion of; and Beau began to follow in his footsteps when he attempted to gain fame by prosecuting "one of the worst pedophiles in American history" but "DEFENDS the judge who only gave a du Pont heir probation after admitting to sexually assaulting his three-year-old daughter."

These aren't champions of the working class at all; they're scam artists using propaganda to get elected and enforce an incredibly unjustifiable judicial system.

You would have to keep your head in the sand and only watch the media the government and consolidated oligarchies tell you to believe there is anything close to "equal justice for all!"

Edit 05/25/2017: “state police prosecutor show favoritism toward some defense attorneys by offering their clients reduced-charge deals not offered to some defendants without lawyers” instead of reprimanding him they reprimanded Judge DeVries for being lenient on those without money for lawyers preventing them from being treated worse!

A few weeks ago a judge in New Hampshire Judge Devries was reprimanded for having too much compassion 05/1/2017 standing up for the rights of those that couldn’t afford a lawyer when prosecutors were over-zealous. The article says, “DeVries reported she did this after observing the same state police prosecutor show favoritism toward some defense attorneys by offering their clients reduced-charge deals not offered to some defendants without lawyers.” However there was no indication that the prosecutor was being investigated for giving favorable options to those with less money, who happen to need more protection from judges who are supposed to defend against injustices like this!

Instead of allowing Judges to do their jobs they’re punishing the ones that try to reduce inequality!

Beau Biden DEFENDS the judge who only gave a du Pont heir probation after admitting to sexually assaulting his three-year-old daughter 04/04/2014

Beau Biden prosecuted one of the worst pedophiles in American history 06/01/2015

Before He Was America's Wacky Uncle, Joe Biden Was a Tough-on-Crime Hardliner 08/07/2015

Glen Greenwald makes many similar arguments in "With Liberty And Justice For Some"

Alice Walton was also involved in an accident that killed a pedestrian but no charges were even seriously considered.

Drunken Driving charges dropped against Alice Walton Her record was also expunged and previous accidents including one that killed a pedestrian didn't even lead to charges even though she has a history, like her father of speeding well above limits.