How much is that justice in the window?

By Brandon Astor Jones

“I can't say I approve it, but I got all the parties together and they worked out whatever settlement they wanted on the case.” -- District Attorney Tom Charron, Cobb County (Georgia)

In 1991, a Pennsylvania chiropractor, Markell Boulis, was arrested for trying to sell 16.2 grams of cocaine. In December 1993 he was convicted by 10 jurors for narcotics trafficking. His lawyer worked out a deal with the Cobb County officials.

Boulis handed the assistant district attorney a cashier's cheque for $200,000. There was some “first offender” talk slung about, despite the fact that the records show that Boulis had been convicted of other felonies as well. Nevertheless, he walked out of the courtroom a free man. Indeed, a free man without even a criminal record. He returned to Pennsylvania and his chiropractic practice; the state of Pennsylvania will never know about his felony conviction in the state of Georgia.

It is my opinion that Dr Boulis bought a select brand of justice, reserved for the rich.

Professor Donald Hall, of Vanderbilt University Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, agrees. He said, “It obviously sends a message to the community that if you are a person charged with a serious crime and have a lot of money, you can buy your freedom. It smacks of patent unequal justice.”

Another aspect of the Cobb County justice system is its leader's willingness to speak out of both sides of his mouth. His words at the head of this article imply that he did not approve of the deal with Dr Boulis. After making that statement, he then said “From the standpoint of do I approve of it and stand behind it, I sure do. It was a great deal. A great deal for Cobb County and a real punishment for the defendant.”

I am sure he honestly thinks that was a great deal. I take no issue with what he did with Dr Boulis. The problem for me is that I don't know of a single case in which Charron struck such a deal with a person of colour. Such deals seem to be reserved only for Caucasian-Americans with a lot of money. African-Americans who get caught trying to sell as much cocaine as Dr Boulis -- especially those who have past felony convictions -- get as much as 20 years in prison from Cobb County.

In the Cobb County judicial system, justice is a purchasable commodity, no different than Georgia's peach crop. This and other cases clearly show that.

It is also clear that you have to have white skin before Ol' Tom will wag his tail for you. Ol' Tom will be prosecuting my case again soon and, of course, I have no means to give him $200,000, nor is my skin white. With dread I am reminded that in Greek mythology the ferryman assigned to carry the dead across the River Styx into Hades is named “Charon”.
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to receive letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]

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