White men enjoy a certain privilege in this world and athletes do too. Combine those two things together and you can literally construct a get-out-of-jail-free card that you can wield when in a bind.
We have seen this with Brock Turner the Stanford rapist, and here it is again with this case. High School athlete David Becker was charged with raping and sexually assaulting two girls at a party, after he penetrated them digitally while they were unconscious. Becker was facing two years in jail for his crime, but the judge on the case decided to give him probation without any explanation.
Here is what Becker’s attorney told Masslive:
“He can now look forward to a productive life without being burdened with the stigma of having to register as a sex offender,” said attorney Thomas Rooke, who defended David Becker, 18, in court. “The goal of this sentence was not to impede this individual from graduating high school and to go onto the next step of his life, which is a college experience. Putting this kid in jail for two years would have destroyed this kids life”
The DA recommended two years in jail for his crime, but Judge Thomas Este set him up with a nice deal that will allows him to serve probation, not register as a sex offender, and not have a conviction appear on his record as long as he complies with probation.
This outcome is troubling because we repeatedly see how disproportionate sentencing rules are towards minorities compared to whites when the same crimes are committed.
According to the US Sentencing Commission, black offenders receive sentences that are 15% longer than white offenders for the same crime. Also, data from the Sentencing Project show that black offenders are 21% more likely to receive the mandatory minimum than white offenders.
Judicial and racial bias in the justice system, along with the way black offenders are viewed are the root cause for these data points. Black offenders don’t get the benefit of doubt most times for just making a mistake, or concern that jail would destroy a life. The majority of the time it’s the opposite of what Brock Turner and now David Becker get to experience, due to the privilege of not being dehumanized by their crimes.
