JUSTICE PEEKS

Let me get this straight. News item: "A Tampa judge refused to send a
convicted drug offender to prison, saying that because he is thin and
white he would be a target for sexual assault."

Once again, there seems to be a double standard for crimes committed
by whites and blacks. The message here is that the court is looking
at the individual and his skin color and deciding that no matter what
he has done, because he is white, he will not be subjected to prison
life with all its harsh realities.

I just wonder if the individual was black and thin (all you have to
do is turn on the news and when they show the prison population, I am
positive that all black inmates are not 6 feet, 280 pounds), would
the judge have had the same amount of compassion for his plight?

I guess racism is OK if you're not the one being victimized. And we
all know - this being the home of the brave and the land of the free
- - that the lady on the front of the courthouse with the blindfold on
must be peeking out from under the blindfold to see what color the
accused is before justice is served, and laughing.

ALBERT CONWAY

Fort Walton Beach