Where They Do That At? Consistency In Accountability

To the naked eye, there is not much digging left to be done to unearth the resounding calls for accountability across the country. However, here in our Commonwealth, we seem to find ourselves mired in scandal and controversy more than other states. The saying goes; do the crime, do the time. Yet, some punishments oddly do not reflect the context of the charges.

In this so-called post-racial era, Black people are often blamed for pulling the proverbial race card. Race certainly does not erase guilt. Wrong is wrong. Yet, how could such blatant discrepancies not be called into question? It does not take a Cambridge-trained mathematician to figure out a few sentencing irregularities.

Former Chicopee mayor Richard Goyette received 2 years for extorting $10,000 in bribes.
Former State Senator Diane Wilkerson received 3.5 years for accepting $25,000 in bribes.
Former Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner received 3 years for accepting a $1,000 bribe.
Former East Boston liaison John Forbes received probation for selling both OxyContin and cocaine.
US Representative Tierney's wife, Patrice Tierney, received 30 days for $8 million dollars worth of tax fraud.

And on top of all this there have still been no arrests much less indictments on the state or federal levels for the major players behind the financial scams that nearly brought the nation's economy to its knees.

No wonder there still exists a very palpable resistance to "the law" in communities of color who are still being lynched albeit not physically but mentally and financially. Does US Attorney Carmen Ortiz really believe her predecessor undertook proper due diligence to truly uncover all of the truths behind this conspiracy?

A friend of mine noted this week "there are often many shades of gray in between that white and black we are socialized to only believe in." However, many of my peers and elders truly believe the criminal justice system is intentionally designed for us to fail. No matter how successful you may become, don't stray too far to the left of radical activism. Are we to believe that the process of issuing liquor licenses was only flawed inasmuch as it led to the political demise of only Diane Wilkerson and Chuck Turner? Case closed. Really? Can it all be so simple?