Gossett: Manafort Judge ignored the content of his “criminal character”

March 8, 2019

Summary

“It’s ironic that Paul Manafort will be serving less time than many brothers whose only crime was stealing a six-pack of beer instead of an election.”

Story

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Gossett release this statement in response to the 47-month sentence former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort received after his conviction on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud:

“Judge T.S. Ellis III has no problem laying down hard sentences to criminals, as long as they’re a certain type of criminal. He gave former congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana 13 years for bribery. Jefferson didn’t help steal an election, but he was a Black man.

“It’s ironic that Paul Manafort will be serving less time than many brothers whose only crime was stealing a six-pack of beer instead of an election. We still have a long way to go when a man like Manafort is judged by the content of his criminal character instead of the color of his White skin. It’s long past time for White judges to start considering the content of Black defendant’s character instead of judging them solely by the color of their skin.

“Racial disproportionality in sentencing is a common occurrence for far too many people of color in our criminal justice system. I want the same people who are outraged by Manafort’s sentence to work with me to solve the issue of racial disproportionality on a local level.”