The Ongoing Travesty That Is Celebrity Justice

Those of us who are minorities always say that the blindfolded lady (Themis) holding the scales displayed in front of the court-houses of justice does so because she cannot face us due to the disparity in sentencing in America for whites and minorities – but in this same vein, we should amend our thoughts by adding that there is nothing more perverse than the current justice doled out to the typical Hollywood celebrity, black or white, who runs afoul of the law. Wesley Snipes’ pending jail sentence for tax evasion is just that - pending; Lindsay Lohan’s received ninety days in jail, but because of the supposed over crowdedness, she served only two weeks; and recently, People.com reported that Charlie Sheen, instead of doing jail time for domestic violence against his wife, will, instead, do thirty days in rehab. This does not include his recent trashing of the New York hotel room… allegedly decorated with a hooker and cocaine.

How is it that the jails in and around Hollywood are always overcrowded for celebrities, but not for the common folks? We all remembered Paris Hilton’s “perp” walk and that of Lindsay Lohan’s – we commended the judges who adjudicated both cases, but the sentences were not carried out to their max because of the convenience of ‘over crowdedness’ of the jails. Where are the intrepid reporters to investigate this disparity and show how the celebrities are unfairly favored? For God’s sake, look at Mr. Sheen’s criminal record – the bloody definition of recidivism should be a picture of Mr. Sheen. As for Mr. Snipes, I recently saw him on TMZ - I thought that when your case goes to the Appellate Court and you lose… then you go to jail until you case is heard by the court of last resort, the Supreme Court?

The citizenry must have confidence in the judicial system; and although, we have reverence for our pop icons, there has to be a modicum of fairness and the appearance that justice is indeed blind. With the recent sentencing for the celebrities mentioned above, we are left to think that lady justice blind fold is transparent, at least for the vain-glorious citizens of Hollywood.