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White Cop Growing Pot Gets Off Easy. Black Teens Do Hard Time.
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Daily Beast
Posted: June 26th, 2016
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/22/white-cop-g...
There are more than 20 states in the U.S. where growing small amounts of marijuana is legal. North Carolina isnt one of them. Those caught cultivating cannabis in the Tar Heel State are usually slapped with a felony, prison time, and anywhere from a $200 to $200,000 fine. Unless, apparently, that person is a police officer. Take the case of Thomas Daniel Gaskins. Police arrested the 33-year-old on June 13 in connection to 11 marijuana plants found in a forest. At the time of his arrest, Gaskins ... worked as a police officer. Local news confirmed the arrest and initially reported that he had been charged both with manufacturing and possession of marijuana. But later reports began reflecting that he had only been charged with possession, a misdemeanor. His story is a perfect representation of the war on drugs biggest problem - racial bias. Minorities are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for pot than whites. While 11 marijuana plants may not seem like a large offense, it dwarfs many marijuana crimes that minorities are serving life sentences for today. Take the case of Fate Vincent Winslow, who was sentenced to life in prison ... for selling $20 worth of weed to an undercover officer. Winslow was accompanied by a white man in the sale, who - despite receiving $15 of the $20 - was never even arrested. Thats not to say that white men havent fallen victim to the drug war, just that theyre far less likely to serve the kind of hard time that minorities are often slapped with.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles about corruption in police departments and in the court system.