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I simply do not know what the judge possibly heard that made him believe a 7 year sentence was appropriate.
To some in Paris, sinister past is back
In Texas, a white teenager burns down her family's home and receives probation. A black one shoves a hall monitor and gets 7 years in prison. The state NAACP calls it `a signal to black folks.'
By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
March 12, 2007
**SNIP**
There are the Paris public schools, which are under investigation by the U.S. Education Department after repeated complaints that administrators discipline black students more frequently, and more harshly, than white students.
And then there is the case that most troubles Cherry and leaders of the Texas NAACP, involving a 14-year-old black freshman, Shaquanda Cotton, who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun.
The youth had no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor--a 58-year-old teacher's aide--was not seriously injured. But Shaquanda 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 she turns 21.
Just three months earlier, Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family's house, to probation.
"All Shaquanda did was grab somebody and she will be in jail for 5 or 6 years?" said Gary Bledsoe, an Austin attorney who is president of the state NAACP branch. "It's like they are sending a signal to black folks in Paris that you stay in your place in this community, in the shadows, intimidated."
**SNIP**
But the teen's defenders assert that long before the September 2005 shoving incident, Paris school officials targeted Shaquanda for scrutiny because her mother had frequently accused school officials of racism.
Retaliation alleged
"Shaquanda started getting written up a lot after her mother became involved in a protest march in front of a school," said Sharon Reynerson, an attorney with Lone Star Legal Aid, who has represented Shaquanda during challenges to several of the disciplinary citations she received. "Some of the write-ups weren't fair to her or accurate, so we felt like we had to challenge each one to get the whole story."
Among the write-ups Shaquanda received, according to Reynerson, were citations for wearing a skirt that was an inch too short, pouring too much paint into a cup during an art class and defacing a desk that school officials later conceded bore no signs of damage.
Shaquanda's mother, Creola Cotton, does not dispute that her daughter can behave impulsively and was sometimes guilty of tardiness or speaking out of turn at school--behaviors that she said were manifestations of Shaquanda's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which the teen was taking prescription medication.
Nor does Shaquanda herself deny that she pushed the hall monitor after the teacher's aide refused her permission to enter the school before the morning bell--although Shaquanda maintains that she was supposed to have been allowed to visit the school nurse to take her medication, and that the teacher's aide pushed her first.
But Cherry alleges that Shaquanda's frequent disciplinary write-ups, and the insistence of school officials at her trial that she deserved prison rather than probation for the shoving incident, fits in a larger pattern of systemic discrimination against black students in the Paris Independent School District.
In the past five years, black parents have filed at least a dozen discrimination complaints against the school district with the federal Education Department, asserting that their children, who constitute 40 percent of the district's nearly 4,000 students, were singled out for excessive discipline.
**SNIP**
A peculiar inmate
Meanwhile, Shaquanda, a first-time offender, remains something of an anomaly inside the Texas Youth Commission prison system, where officials say 95 percent of the 2,500 juveniles in their custody are chronic, serious offenders who already have exhausted county-level programs such as probation and local treatment or detention.
"The Texas Youth Commission is reserved for those youth who are most violent or most habitual," said commission spokesman Tim Savoy. "The whole concept of commitment until your 21st birthday should be recognized as a severe penalty, and that's why it's typically the last resort of the juvenile system in Texas."
Inside the youth prison in Brownwood where she has been incarcerated for the past 10 months--a prison currently at the center of a state scandal involving a guard who allegedly sexually abused teenage inmates--Shaquanda, who is now 15, says she has not been doing well.
Three times she has tried to injure herself, first by scratching her face, then by cutting her arm. The last time, she said, she copied a method she saw another young inmate try, knotting a sweater around her neck and yanking it tight so she couldn't breathe. The guards noticed her sprawled inside her cell before it was too late.
She tried to harm herself, Shaquanda said, out of depression, desperation and fear of the hardened young thieves, robbers, sex offenders and parole violators all around her whom she must try to avoid each day.
"I get paranoid when I get around some of these girls," Shaquanda said. "Sometimes I feel like I just can't do this no more--that I can't survive this."
i'd like to see the kids disciplinary history/history with the dept. of juvenile justice.
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RIP: Lakelandkev 6/17/2007 ... You will be missedmoforeynolds-----I just troll for chicks on the Planned Parenthood forums. Not always the hottest, but you know they put out. Sluts.
Not levying any kind of opinion, but why snip these segments:
Quote:
An attorney for the school district, Dennis Eichelbaum, said the Education Department had determined all of the complaints to be unfounded.
"The [department] has explained that the school district has not and does not discriminate, that the school district has been a leader and very progressive when it comes to race relations, and that there was no validity to the allegations made by the complainants," Eichelbaum said.
Quote:
Not everyone in Paris agrees, however, that blacks are treated unfairly by the city's institutions.
"I've lived here all my life, and I don't see that," said Mary Ann Reed Fisher, one of two black members of the Paris City Council. "My kids went to Paris High School, and they never had one minute of a problem with the school system, the courts or the police."
Quote:
The Education Department asked the U.S. Justice Department to try to mediate disputes between black parents and the district, but school officials pulled out of the process last December before it was concluded.
And in April 2006, the Education Department notified Paris school officials that it was opening a new, comprehensive review to determine "whether the district discriminated against African-American students on the basis of race" between 2004 and 2006. Federal officials say that investigation is still in progress.
Pete (wonders why you'd snip parts of the article at all)
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"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson
"Assault on a 'Public Servant'" That right there is your answer. Burning down your own home is one thing, but God help you if you touch a government employee!
Paris made headlines around the nation Monday with a story in the Chicago Tribune by Howard Witt that highlighted the case of 14-year-old Shaquanda Cotton who was convicted of assault of a public servant for shoving a hall monitor at Paris High School.
Some people are calling the story a smear campaign that inaccurately represents Paris, while others are praising the midwestern newspaper for finally presenting an accurate look at the story.
It is The Paris News policy not to identify the names of juveniles convicted of crimes, but special permission was gained by the girl's mother.
“If the nation is shocked and outraged, why are the people of Paris not?” civil rights activist Brenda Cherry asked.
Cotton's mother, Creola Cotton, said the Tribune contacted her in reference to the story, most likely because of NAACP action in Austin, but she was glad the paper did what she felt is fair and balanced story.
“No one ever asked Shaquanda's side. No on ever talked to me or talked to Shaquanda. Everything that was reported in The Paris News came from the other side,” she claims.
The 14-year-old was sentenced by County Judge Chuck Superville to an indeterminate sentence of up to seven years in a Texas Youth Commission facility, a sentence Creola Cotton and fellow civil rights activist Brenda Cherry say they feel is unfair.
“If she had to get some kind of punishment for what they say she did, then I think alternative school would have been going far enough,” Creola Cotton said.
Superville said he had not read the story and could not offer a look into the legal aspects of the case.
“From what I'm hearing it's highly unflattering and highly inaccurate,” Superville said.
Creola Cotton says the most unflattering and inaccurate part of the ordeal is how she and her daughter were treated by Paris Independent School District and the Lamar County judicial system. Both she and Cherry say their children were unfairly discriminated against by the district because they protested and filed complaints against the school and police department.
“That is supposed to be the American system. You don't go fight. You talk about it. if you're not satisfied, you file a complaint. That's supposed to be the American way,” Cherry said.
“If you're white,” Cotton added.
During the punishment phase of the trial, prosecutors argued against probation, saying that the girl’s mother is perhaps her biggest problem and that the girl has no hope of getting better as long as she’s in the same home as her mother.
“Shaquanda came from a very structured home. She didn't run around; she didn't get out in the street; she didn't do drugs; she didn't drink alcohol; she didn't do any of those things because I didn't let her,” Creola Cotton said. “The only reason that they could give that Shaquanda should be removed from my home is that I filed complaints against the school and the police department. So how does that make me an unfit parent?”
The defense position has always been that a school employee shoved the girl first. Cherry and Creola Cotton say the teacher's aide faked injures so charges could be trumped up against the 14-year-old.
Officials at PISD say the Tribune story does not cover all the facts.
“It's unfortunate that Mr. Witt would come to such a broad conclusion based upon limited information,” administrator Robert High said. “The district cannot comment on matters when litigation is pending. FERPA regulations also prevent us from discussing details involving a minor.”
The Office for Civil Rights Dallas Division is currently investigating the district.
“They have come to the district and reviewed all records for a two year period and conducted some interviews and are scheduled to return,” High said.
The Chicago Tribune story compared the case to that of a 14-year-old arsonist who Superville elected to keep on probation.
Cherry and Creola Cotton say this is outrageous.
“It's unfair that Shaquanda gets an unfair sentence up to age 21 for actually just touching a teacher to keep her from continually pushing her. She did that kind of crime and you have a little white girl the same age as Shaquanda was who goes down and burns down a house (and is) just repeatedly in the court system and he chooses to give her more probation. She was already on probation,” Creola Cotton said.
Officials at Lamar County Attorney's office say they pushed for the same sentence for the 14-year-old arsonist, who is white, as they did for Shaquanda Cotton.
“There are people who commit crimes and there are people who do not agree with the way those crimes are handled and the process. this is not a racial issue with this office,” Lamar County Attorney's Office spokesman Allan Hubbard said. “There will always be people who object to the level that we pursue something for prosecution.”
Prosecutor Merilee Brown pointed out that an appeals court denied the 14-year-old Cotton a personal recognizance bond.
“She's been in there 10 months, and she could have been out by now,” Brown said.
The story also referenced the Cody Posey case which was in the 6th District Court of Jim Lovett. A jury recommended five years in prison for the criminally negligent homicide conviction, but Lovett probated the sentence for 10 years.
“He's an adult and that was an accident. You can't even compare those,” Brown said. “... That's severe for a car accident.”
Members of Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality and the Paris/Lamar County Millions More Movement say they believe the cases are very relevant and show blatant racism in Paris. The groups plan to protest Monday at either Lamar County Courthouse or Paris Independent School District administration building.
“It's concerning Shaquanda Cotton and the fact that black people and Hispanics are not treated the same in Lamar County. We just don't feel that we get the same treatment. We do not want special treatment; we want equal treatment, that's all,” Cherry said.
Lamar County Chamber of Commerce President Pete Kampfer said Tuesday afternoon he felt the story was slanted, but shouldn't hurt industry looking to move to Paris.
“It would have no impact right now, but we don't want any of these negative things reflecting on our community. It's a rather negative article about us,” he said.
Pete (updates)
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"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson
The key words that nobody is reading properly are "UP TO."
Quote:
The 14-year-old was sentenced by County Judge Chuck Superville to an indeterminate sentence of up to seven years in a Texas Youth Commission facility...
Quote:
Prosecutor Merilee Brown pointed out that an appeals court denied the 14-year-old Cotton a personal recognizance bond.
Quote:
She's been in there 10 months, and she could have been out by now,”
I'm not sure what the terms of the indeterminite sentence are, but I'm guessing that they are something along the lines of "you'll stay there until you learn to behave" or something.
Also amusing:
Quote:
During the punishment phase of the trial, prosecutors argued against probation, saying that the girl’s mother is perhaps her biggest problem and that the girl has no hope of getting better as long as she’s in the same home as her mother.
Pete (thinks racism is probably a factor but thinks Mr. Witt tremendously overstated the issue)
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"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson
Well Mr. Witt's article says the hall monitor suffered no injuries.
The Paris article states that Mr. Witt didn't ask for the other side's story, and says that the defense says that the hall monitor "trumped up" injuries.
So the defense told Mr. Witt that the hall monitor suffered no injuries, while telling the Paris paper that the injuries were trumped up.
My guess is that they're either wrong or lying, and that the hall monitor was actually injured.
Pete (notes that blatant racism at the appellate court level is not very likely)
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"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson
You have to also look @ the town. Paris, Texas had some of the largest public lynchings in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Not saying this is blatantly racist. But I do think race may have played a little part in the judges deciscion. Who knows...
i still wanna know what the kid's history is.......because even an "up to" 7 year sentence for a minor isn't given on something like this without her having a violent history.
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RIP: Lakelandkev 6/17/2007 ... You will be missedmoforeynolds-----I just troll for chicks on the Planned Parenthood forums. Not always the hottest, but you know they put out. Sluts.
It's not as bad as Mr. Witt's article is making it out to be, but I'd still bet that if the kid were white, she'd get probation, regardless of her history, because it still is a first offense.
Pete (isn't naive about these sorts of things)
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"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson
The key words that nobody is reading properly are "UP TO."
Good catch. After the title(thread and news article) it was easy to miss that KEY point.
Which just goes to point out the disparity in the two crimes that were compared.
Assaulting a govt agent is a totally different crime than arson. Also you can't compare the maximum penalty for her crime with the Actual penalty of the arsonist.
You can't compare them at all. The arson case is almost completely irrelevant and thrown in for dramatic effect.
Pete (thinks you could say that about the entirety of Mr. Witt's article)
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"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." --Thomas Jefferson
7 years for shoving a hall monitor??
