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I was an observer in a criminal court in southern Virginia this morning, for reasons I can't say here. I sat through three hours of felony trials and hearings, in rural "Bush Country" ("W'04" stickers as pervasive as the magnificent beauty of the mountains).
This was a "culture shock" to me on several levels, both economic and regional. I'm a dreaded "New England Liberal Intellectual" in origin, later an "Urban Latte-Sipping Elitist" in New York. My parents were poor southerners who met as students at Yale. And now I'm as far south as I could stand -- Maryland. I can't always understand souther accents (Husb and I had to keep rewinding "Brokeback Mountain" to figure out what the heck they were saying!).
So, southern VA was "foreign" already. But what I saw in court was amazing. (I wish I'd been prepared enough to take notes). Note that there is no parole in VA, all of these were plea bargains, and these men were already in custody and handcuffed.
(The message to rightwingers who feel nothing about the personal side of this -- imagine the small taxpayer investments that could have prevented the taxpayer expenses of these imprisonments, probations, court costs, etc.; imagine the potential of a small investment to enable these people to give back TO the government in taxes!)
Some of what I saw:
1. The most serious case involved a man who was thrice convicted of stealing food. The third time -- the one that brought his case to the level of felony -- was attempted shoplifting of $16.50 worth of food. He'd been put on felony probation as a result, and his first drug test was positive for pot; all others were clean. Months later, he got involved in a fight, was charged with "unlawful wounding," and knowing he was already on probation, he ran. His elderly father took the stand hooked to a respirator with third-stage emphysema (I know, I know, could be an act) saying he needed his son. The son was sentenced to four years in prison, and several more years of probation -- for stealing food, smoking pot, and getting in a fight.
How many people do YOU know who've smoked pot, and gotten into fights? They could be in this man's handcuffs if they were poor enough to steal food.
2. A man was caught siphoning gas from vehicles in a used car lot. The total "damage" claimed was $350. He'd paid $250 of the $500 court costs, but still owed the remainder and all the restitution. How soon could he pay the rest? He guessed six months. The judge said that if he doesn't, his charges would be increased; meanwhile, he got six months in prison.
Imagine being so desperate you'd siphon gas from a used car lot -- and then after paying $250, you have to come up with $600, WHILE incarcerated?
3. A man robbed a convenience store with a BB gun. He ran off with $150. There were three charges on that incident, including robbery involving a firearm (for the record, I am a gun-control advocate). He was sentenced, as I recall, to three years in prison, and probation after that.
What circumstances would lead YOU to rob a store for $150? What keeps us from doing that, and what's the cost of keeping this guy in prison vs. helping him out?
Common themes repeated themselves, in case after case:
- If you can't pay by the deadline, you'll be required to pay TWICE as much.
- If you don't get a job, your driver's license will be suspended. (How does THAT help anyone work?)
- Burdened with debt, no job, and your drivers license suspended, you need to find a way to attend daily drug counseling sessions
- Or else, we'll JAIL you.
It's like, "If you can't afford $16.50 in food, we're going to spend $30,000 punishing you."
These are, btw, young white men, in rural "Bush country" (plenty of bumperstickers around showing it), poor and desperate. I'm not excusing them. (The bored judge and lawyers seemed so equal in age, complexion, and accent, that I was struck by the very LACK of contrast.)
As matters of character, there are PLENTY of people in upper echelons with the very same flaws and weaknesses, and given different circumstances, they'd be in striped suits and handcuffs, too.
(The Chimperor, for example.)
What I saw was another incarnation of the end result of SELFISH, short-sighted rightwing policy. I've seen its results in Black, urban areas; but I've never so clearly seen its results in white, rural areas.
They talk about "punishing wealth" by taxing billionaires? HAH!! Their whole philosophy not only rewards wealth, but punishes POVERTY by locking in the poor -- literally.
Under their skins, these people are no different than the wealthy students I went to school with. Under their skins, this whole administration has done FAR more to warrant the striped orange suits and handcuffs than any of these poor people did.
The only difference is: the felons' crimes were born of poverty; the rulers' crimes were born of greed.
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