Impunity is when the judicial system breaks down. The legal system can break down in several ways. It can simply cease to exist. Its foundation becomes corrupted, Or, like in El Paso it becomes corrupt by simply allowing two legal systems to exist. One system incarcerates the poor while the other system coddles the well-connected.
Last week we looked at the case of Billy Abraham. (link) Abraham killed a man. The El Paso legal system gave him two years of prison for killing a pedestrian while driving intoxicated. Abraham served 18 months.
In El Paso killing a man is only worth 18 months.
But Billy Abraham isn’t done with the legal system yet. He lied to the court in his most recent case. He egregiously lied to the court according the judge. The judge sentenced him to ten years’ probation for lying to the court.
If a poor El Pasoan lies to the court, he won’t be getting probation, he will go to jail. But not Billy Abraham, a member of the well-connected class of El Paso. He gets probation. Billy Abraham was arrested again last week.
Also, last week, a former El Paso police officer was found guilty of raping a woman while on duty and responding to a domestic case. Yes, guilty of raping a woman he was supposed to be helping while in uniform. His sentence?
As a member of the well-connected class of the city, William Alexander was sentenced to ten years in prison for the rape, but his sentence was probated, meaning he spends no time in jail. Why is a former police officer a member of the well-connected class?
Because the power class of El Paso requires the police to protect them from the poor. A classic example of the powerful protected by the local police. It helps that the accused is Anglo in El Paso, because the Anglo or wannabe Anglo Hispanics can join the well-connected if it serves the purposes of the rich class.
There is an extensive record of El Paso police misconduct documented in the EPN Blog.
Globally, these two-types of judicial system is known as impunity.
The powerful can commit crimes knowing that the corrupt system will protect them. They also benefit from having the police in their pocket.
When a poor person decides to challenge the impunity, they immediately find themselves as targets of a police force working for their masters. The judges find ways to throw them in jail to silence them and remind the poor that their place is to pay the taxes and remain quiet no matter how egregious the power connected become.
