Prison, Justice, and Abuse by Power
By: Iyabo Onipede – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
I had to go sit in a courtroom this week. An old client was being sentenced and I wanted to support the person. The trial was several months ago, and my friend was found guilty of criminal charges. Now, this was a sentencing hearing.
The judge said the following, in no particular order and with many other words interspersed:
“Why did you do it?”
“The people who wrote letters on your behalf do not know you. They just think they know you. That is why they said nice things about you. They do not know you. What you did was wicked.”
“You are a bad person.”
“You have two masters and you are working on a PhD? You should have known better.”
“You think you are smart, with all your education, trying to steal our money.”
“I am holding you to higher standards.”
“You must be held accountable.”
I sat there stung by these words. I could not believe the judge’s language. I am grateful the defense attorney objected to the judge asking, “Why did you do it?” because this was a sentencing hearing. Guilt, or reason for the guilt, was not the issue facing the court.
Hearing these words left me in a daze and deeply concerned for abuse of power in this country. Whether it is at the border or when punishment is being doled out for a crime, prioritizing human dignity is the only way wholeness and health can be the preserved. Human dignity deters a person from committing a crime again, deters others who want to commit a similar crime and also preserves the purpose of the justice system.
It is important to evaluate why we have a criminal justice system (of which border protection is part of). I remember the first day of criminal law class in law school and the professor asked a question which as stayed with me thirty plus years later.
“What is the purpose of the criminal justice system? Is it to prevent crime, deter crime, protect society from criminals or punish people for crimes?”
Of course, there is not one simple answer. However, this is a democratic country and we get a say so in how we expect our leaders to govern.
What happened in that courtroom is not far away from what is happening at the border. When a person’s humanity is diminished, we are abusing “power over.”
“Power over” or “threat power” is what Kenneth Bouling, an English economist from the 1970’s referred to as police power. This is the power to exert force over another. It is required in governance. The judge had the right to send my friend to prison because the jury found him guilty. Yet such power is often abused and extended beyond the rights of the person who holds the power which the judge did in this case.
The judge did not have the right to dehumanize my friend in the process. The judge did not have the right to be the morality police.
The border police do not have the right to dehumanize children by depriving them of human touch in the converted Wal-Mart that is housing detained children refugees at the border.
What is dehumanizing about the judge’s words?
“You have two masters and you are working on a PhD? You should have known better.” Why should my friend have known better? This is a person who was trying to make ends meet to feed the children and did something stupid.
“You think you are smart, with all your education, trying to steal our money.” Educated people have human needs too. This person did not steal any money. And why is the money “our” money? Whose money?
“I am holding you to a higher standard.” Why? Why should people be held to a higher standard than others when they have a lapse in judgment?
“You must be held accountable.” My friend was held accountable by being found guilty and was before the judge to be sentenced. An unfair sentence does not make one more accountable.
“The people who wrote letters on your behalf do not know you. They just think they know you. That is why they said nice things about you. They do not know you. What you did was wicked.” The judge’s job is to determine sentencing not the moral lapse of my friend. Calling this person “wicked” is beyond the purview of the court. Saying that the letters written on behalf of the person were not accurate is well beyond the scope of the judge’s responsibilities.
Why all this bravado and posturing by the judge?
I don’t know, and I do not want to speculate.
What came to my mind was a definition I read earlier this week by Ijeoma Oluo in “So You Want to Talk About Race.” She says how we are unable to talk about race in this country. She says one definition is: “Any prejudice against someone because of their race. Or any prejudice against someone because of their race, when those views are reinforced by systems of power” (pg. 26.) This second definition is how I define racism and how I invite you to define it as well.
My friend was a black immigrant and the judge represented the system of power. The disdain the judge had for this person was palpable in the courtroom. You may say that the judge’s disdain had nothing to do with race. Maybe not. But I know that the punishment did not fit the crime.
The disdain for lives of children at the border by the government is palpable.
Systems of power exert “power over” and abuse the humanity of others when there are black and brown bodies involved.
You may not like this post as it may rock your comfortable world, but we live in a shamefully racist country. It is shameful because it is dehumanizing.
What did my friend do to deserve a sentence of 40 months, plus deportation: Lied about employment to get a mortgage.
Please note: This is how your tax dollars are spent – at the border and imprisoning people who are trying to figure out how to make a living and are not following the rules as they should. Don’t get me wrong, my friend was wrong as the day is long. I actually do not have a problem with the prison sentence although I thought it was entirely too stiff. My problem is how this person was dehumanized in the presence of their three children.
I wonder what systems you are involved in that dehumanize people on a daily basis?
More by Iyabo:
Confessions of a Woman of Color at an Ordinary Summer Cookout
Kate Spade & What I Learned Over Years of Losing Everything While Battling Clinical Depression
Iyabo is a Leadership Development Coach whose work focuses on the soul of the leader. She moves leaders from thriving careers into discovering, crafting and living into their life work. By helping successful people integrate spirituality into their leadership roles, they become more engaged with their work, expand the connection of their work to social justice issues and experience more satisfaction in their life work. Using the power of narrative and reflection, she helps leaders fine tune the sacred “work their souls must have” (Alice Walker).
Iyabo is located in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Goucher College (B.A.), Georgetown University Law School (J.D.) and Candler School of Theology at Emory University (M.Div.).
Iyabo’s home on the web is at http://www.coachiyabo.com
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