2 women sentenced in slaying of Mississippi black man
Source: Associated Press
2 women sentenced in slaying of Mississippi black man
By JEFF AMY, Associated Press | April 9, 2015 | Updated: April 9, 2015 6:05pm
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Two women who were part of a group that repeatedly searched Mississippi's capital city for black people to assault were sentenced Thursday to multiple years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate on Thursday sentenced Shelbie Brooke Richards of Pearl to eight years in prison on one count each of conspiracy to commit a hate crime and concealing the crime by lying to police.
In a separate hearing earlier Thursday, Wingate also sentenced Sarah Adelia Graves of Crystal Springs to five years in prison for one count of conspiracy to commit a hate crime.
Both women were riding in a truck that ran over James Craig Anderson in June 2011. Anderson died after being beaten and run over.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Woman-given-5-years-in-slaying-of-Mississippi-6189955.php
Graves and Richards receive max sentence
Anderson's sister calls his death 'modern-day lynching'
UPDATED 5:45 PM CDT Apr 09, 2015
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Sarah Graves and Shelbie Richards
Sarah Graves and Shelbie Richards on Dec. 12, 2014, plead guilty to one count each of conspiring to violate the federal
hate crime law.
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JACKSON, Miss. Two white women that were convicted for their roles in the racially motivated killing of a black man in Jackson are now facing several years in prison.
Sarah Adelia Graves turned to James Craig Anderson's family Thursday, wiped tears from her eyes and said, "I'm sorry for your loss."
She was then sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate to five years in prison.
Sentencing followed for Shelbie Brooke Richards, who along with graves, was part of a group who repeatedly searched Jackson for black people to attack, including Anderson, who was killed in 2011.
Graves pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy and faces up to five years in prison. Richards, who pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy and concealing the crime by lying to police, faces eight years in prison.
More:
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/2-women-to-be-sentenced-for-roles-in-racial-killing/32274610
madamvlb
(495 posts)Kip Humphrey
(4,753 posts)24601
(3,940 posts)Department of Justice - not state cases. At first I wondered about the Judge, but the attached article reported that both women received the maximum allowed under their plea agreement with the Department of Justice. It also stated that six men received sentences from 4 to 50 years.
I don't see any information on why the administration made these plea agreements.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)So this is what you get for hate crimes in Mississippi?
freshwest
(53,661 posts)By Therese Apel - February 12, 2015
The three pleaded guilty in March 2012 to one count of conspiracy and one count of committing a hate crime. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves sentenced Dedmon to 50 years and five years to be served concurrently; John Aaron Rice to 18 ½ years and five years to be served concurrently; and Dylan Wade Butler to seven years and five years to be served concurrently. None of them are eligible for probation.
The judge said Dedmon's federal sentence will run concurrent with his state sentence.
The three are part of a group of 10 young white people who have no all pleaded guilty to coming to Jackson, which they called "Jafrica," to harass and assault African-Americans.
Part of the African-American judge's sentencing statement:
"Each defendant was escorted in by African-American U.S. Marshals, prosecuted by an African-American Assistant U.S. Attorney, from an office headed by an African-American U.S. Attorney, under an African-American Attorney General, and my final act will be to turn them over to the Bureau of Prisons, which is also led by an African American," he said.
Not to mention an African American President... More, including the statements of the families, is at the link:
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/10/deryl-dedmon-two-others-to-be-sentenced-in-hate-crime-tuesday/23166397/
24601
(3,940 posts)can credit for these sentences is the US Department of Justice. The Judge gave each women the maximum sentence from the DOJ-negotiated plea bargain.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)they can take part in a racist killing of a man with obvious racist animus involved in this murder and get a few years and that makes everything legally okay? Is this a correct analysis of this murder or am I just being too sensitive and not really understanding these two women? What am I missing about these two that makes me believe that they got the maximum prison time.
840high
(17,196 posts)progressoid
(49,825 posts)How many Black men are in longer for weed?
herding cats
(19,549 posts)The victim, James Craig Anderson
The FBI conducted a high-profile civil rights investigation of Anderson's murder; according to authorities, his death was intentional and racially motivated.[1][2] Anderson's family asked that the perpetrators be spared the death penalty. Dedmon was convicted and sentenced to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment for the murder.[3]
In 2012, Dedmon pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges, as did John Rice, Dylan Butler,[4] Jonathan Gaskamp and William Montgomery. On Feb 10, 2015, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves sentenced Deryl Dedmon to 50 years in prison; John Rice to 18 ½ years; and Dylan Butler to seven years for their roles in the hate crime.[5] Their federal sentences will run concurrently to the state ones and they are not eligible for parole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Craig_Anderson
tabasco
(22,974 posts)should all be locked up for life.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)have been put to death.
No one can deny that racism exists.
olddots
(10,237 posts)Their lack of remorse looks frightening .
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)Based on the article, the judge sentenced them to the maximum allowed for the charges they plead guilty to and would have sentenced them to more time if he was able.
I will speculate and say either the Federal prosecutors wanted the testimony of the two women to make sure they got a conviction of the three men involved OR they felt the case against the two women was potentially weak enough they might not be able to get a conviction.
I'll note the conspiracy referred to was conspiracy to commit a hate crime, not conspiracy to commit murder.
And yes, they deserved more time in jail.
cali
(114,904 posts)the prison terms reflect that.