유전무죄 차별 적용
1 3살과 3살의 두 아들을 교통 사고로 잃은 엄마가 사고 운전수에게
최고형을 선고할 것을 탄원했다.사고를 당한 아이들은 가난한 흑인이고
사고를 낸 운전수는 초등학교 무용선생으로 돈 많은 백인 이었다한다.
선고유예를 주장한 변호사는 사고 후 그냥 달아난 것은 사고가 너무 무서웠기에
두뇌가 정지돼 버렸으니 선고 유예가 타당하다했고, 흑인 사회에선 돈 많은
백인이기에 너그러운 재판이라고했다한다. 법정의 엄마는 법정이 뭘하든 얘들은
죽고 없다 3년 징역형을 선고하여죽은 계들이 평화롭기를 원한다고.
어디나 통하는 유전무죄 무전유죄
Mother of dead children seeks maximum sentence for driver
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. - The sobbing mother of two young boys killed in a hit-and-run accident last year urged
the judge Friday to sentence the driver, an elementary school dance teacher, to the maximum three years in prison.
Malissa Wilkins said Jennifer Porter, 29, should be punished for not stopping after hitting her two sons, Bryant Wilkins,
13, and his 3-year-old brother Durantae Caldwell, as they crossed the street with their siblings from a park.
An 8-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother were injured.
"No matter what we do in this courtroom, it doesn't matter because my kids are gone," Wilkins said,
"Let my kids rest in peace."
Porter's attorney, Barry Cohen, told the judge that his client's "brain shut down" after the accident and
she was scared to stop. He is asking that she be sentenced to probation.
Porter is white and her victims were black and some in the black community say she has been treated leniently
because of her race and economic background.
"Three years? C'mon," Keith Kirk told the St. Petersburg Times last August. ". . .You know if it was a black man,
he'd be locked up. It's a white girl with money. They say money talks."
Porter pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to leaving the scene of the March 31, 2004, accident. She could have faced
a prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted at trial. She was previously offered a plea deal that would have
sent her to prison for three years, but her attorney said she decided to plead guilty and hope the judge would
give her a lighter sentence.
The children were struck by Porter as they returned home from a community center near the newly opened
elementary school where Porter was working.
She drove to her parents' home and did not come forward for five days. She said a white van had struck
the children first, throwing them into her car, but investigators concluded the van wasn't involved.
She has said she didn't stop because she was too scared.
Medical examiner reports said the boys died instantly. Witnesses said the 3-year-old was dragged about
150 feet. In documents released by prosecutors, the children's mother told investigators that she met with
Porter at a law office in March.
Wilkins said Porter told her that she couldn't remember the accident and wasn't the first vehicle to strike the children.
Wilkins said Porter told her she wanted to call authorities the night of the accident, but her parents told her not to.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Cal Henderson has said his office had received calls from some people complaining t
hat Porter was not facing more serious charges. But officials said to warrant a vehicular homicide charge,
prosecutors would have had to prove at least two violations, other than leaving the scene.
Investigators estimated that she was driving a 6 to 10 mph over the posted 30 mph speed limit,
but they could not find another traffic violation.