A judge’s decision to sentence former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to less than four years in prison – a fraction of the penalty called for…
A judge’s decision to sentence former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to less than four years in prison – a fraction of the penalty called for in government guidelines – sparked widespread anger Friday and opened up a conversation about whether the justice system treats different crimes and criminals fairly.
Judge T. S. Ellis III’s comment that Manafort had lived an “otherwise blameless life” was particularly galling to those who pointed out that Manafort ’s past included work for people such as Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos and Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democratic presidential candidate, told “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Thursday night that the criminal justice system “treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent” and preys upon the most vulnerable such as “poor folks, mentally ill folks, addicted folks and overwhelmingly black and brown folks.”
Asked if he was shocked, Booker replied, “No, this criminal justice system can’t surprise me anymore.”
Manafort, 69, was convicted by a jury in Virginia of eight felony tax and bank fraud charges. Probation officials calculated a guideline range of 19.5 to 24.5 years.
Many observers raised the case of Crystal Mason, a black woman from Texas who was sentenced in state court last year to five years in prison for voting illegally in 2016, while she was on supervised release from a federal conviction. Mason said she didn’t know she wasn’t allowed to vote.
Her lawyer, Alison Grinter, told The Associated Press on Friday that the judge’s comment about Manafort being “blameless” was infuriating, especially considering that he is awaiting sentencing on a different case in Washington, where he faces up to 10 more years.
