"Court rejects prison sentence: Appeals court says judge improperly used man's race as factor in extending prison term" is the headline to this story today in the Indianapolis Star, reporting on the Court of Appeals' decision yesterday in the case of Jerome L. Williams v. State of Indiana (7/7/04 IndCtApp). The opinion itself is summarized in the second item in the entry immediately below, posted yesterday. Some quotes from the Star story:
A black man convicted in the strangling death of a white woman will get a new prison sentence after the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a judge improperly used his race as a factor in increasing his prison time. * * *[Update] The AP also has a story on this decision, headlined in the Louisville Courier-Journal: "Indiana judge's sentence rejected for remark on race: Court orders term for murder re-examined." Posted by Marcia Oddi at July 8, 2004 07:04 AMThe judge, in his remarks and in the sentencing order, cited Williams' race -- and the negative effect the murder had on race relations in the community. "I think in light of these facts of this case, it's going to make people more concerned about people of color being in their neighborhoods," Bartholomew Superior Court Judge Chris D. Monroe said, according to a transcript in the Court of Appeals decision.
And in his sentencing order, Monroe wrote: "The crime impacted the community, especially elderly people, and increased their fear of African-Americans." The standard sentence for murder is 55 years. Citing race relations and other aggravating factors, Monroe increased the sentence to 60 years.
"The guy got a greater sentence because he was black. That shouldn't be," said Williams' Indianapolis attorney, Jack Crawford. "This is an important decision, because the court is telling trial judges they have to be very sensitive to the issue of race."