SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
WEST PALM BEACH — The Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP activists stood outside the State Attorney's Office Tuesday morning, protesting what they say is disparate handling of black teens accused in the rape of a Dunbar Village woman and her son and white teens from suburban Boca Raton accused in the rape of their drunk friends.
Sharpton said the black teens remain jailed and the white teens are free on bond, despite them committing the "same act."
"To have different reactions to the same set of circumstances is a crime in itself," Sharpton said.
In the Dunbar Village case, four teens are charged with armed sexual battery for the June crime where they allegedly forced the woman at gunpoint to have sex multiple times, including with her son. Police say the teens then used cleaning agents on the victims afterwards in an attempt to cover their crimes, including stuffing a bar of soap inside the woman. They face possible life in prison.
In the Boca case, five teens are charged with sexual battery on a helpless person because the then 13- and 14-year-old female victims had downed repeated shots of vodka .
According to the teenage boys, at least one of the girls asked in her drunkeness to have sex. Prosecutors recently amended charges so the teens cannot argue consent as a defense. The teens face of a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Sharpton said at the press conference that the Boca teens are not charged as adults like the Dunbar teens. However, all except one of the young men allegedly involved in the Boca rape have been charged as adults.
They are Blake Carter and Ryan Lafferty, both 14, Alex Perriello, 16, Eddie Otaegui, 17, and William Long Jr., 18.
A spokesman for the State Attorney's Office present at Sharpton's conference said he would not even respond to the thoughts expressed there.
Sharpton stood with family members of teens charged in the Dunbar Village incident. Those teens are Avion Lawson, Nathan Walker, Jakaris Taylor. Tommy Poindexter's family members were not present, an organizer said.
Cathy Lawson said her 14-year-old son Avion should not be charged as an adult because he doesn't have the mind of an adult. He is confined to a cell and she wants him to be able to get a bond and be treated fairly, she said.
"He's only allowed out one hour every other day. How would you be doing?"
Police say Lawson's DNA was found on a condom left at the Dunbar scene.
Cat
Oh and one comment made but not reported in the newspaper. he stated that if the victims in this case had not been white then the teens would have been released right away. He seems to either forget or not acknowledge that the victims were black.
WEST PALM BEACH — The Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP activists stood outside the State Attorney's Office Tuesday morning, protesting what they say is disparate handling of black teens accused in the rape of a Dunbar Village woman and her son and white teens from suburban Boca Raton accused in the rape of their drunk friends.
Sharpton said the black teens remain jailed and the white teens are free on bond, despite them committing the "same act."
"To have different reactions to the same set of circumstances is a crime in itself," Sharpton said.
In the Dunbar Village case, four teens are charged with armed sexual battery for the June crime where they allegedly forced the woman at gunpoint to have sex multiple times, including with her son. Police say the teens then used cleaning agents on the victims afterwards in an attempt to cover their crimes, including stuffing a bar of soap inside the woman. They face possible life in prison.
In the Boca case, five teens are charged with sexual battery on a helpless person because the then 13- and 14-year-old female victims had downed repeated shots of vodka .
According to the teenage boys, at least one of the girls asked in her drunkeness to have sex. Prosecutors recently amended charges so the teens cannot argue consent as a defense. The teens face of a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Sharpton said at the press conference that the Boca teens are not charged as adults like the Dunbar teens. However, all except one of the young men allegedly involved in the Boca rape have been charged as adults.
They are Blake Carter and Ryan Lafferty, both 14, Alex Perriello, 16, Eddie Otaegui, 17, and William Long Jr., 18.
A spokesman for the State Attorney's Office present at Sharpton's conference said he would not even respond to the thoughts expressed there.
Sharpton stood with family members of teens charged in the Dunbar Village incident. Those teens are Avion Lawson, Nathan Walker, Jakaris Taylor. Tommy Poindexter's family members were not present, an organizer said.
Cathy Lawson said her 14-year-old son Avion should not be charged as an adult because he doesn't have the mind of an adult. He is confined to a cell and she wants him to be able to get a bond and be treated fairly, she said.
"He's only allowed out one hour every other day. How would you be doing?"
Police say Lawson's DNA was found on a condom left at the Dunbar scene.
Cat
Oh and one comment made but not reported in the newspaper. he stated that if the victims in this case had not been white then the teens would have been released right away. He seems to either forget or not acknowledge that the victims were black.
