'Hello, white privilege:' Judge incites outrage by letting drug dealers off without jail time because of perfect grammar
People are outraged over two Welsh drug dealers who reportedly avoided jail time because the judge appreciated their perfect grammar in texts to customers.
Luke Rance, 19, and Brandon Kerrison, 21, were arrested in 2017 after they were found with several bags of marijuana and a small amount of cocaine, as The Independent reports. When the police searched Rance’s bedroom, they reportedly uncovered about $1,500 worth of weed.
The two men appeared in Swansea Crown Court this week, where texts examined by the police were provided as evidence that they dealt drugs in South Wales. Judge David Hale reportedly described their “grammar and punctuation” as a higher standard than most dealers use.
Neither Rance nor Kerrison were sent to jail, though Kerrison was ordered to complete a rehabilitation program. Along with their grammar skills, the judge also noted that they were each planning to complete courses to help them get a job other than dealing, according to The Telegraph.
People online were quick to point out the double standard that exists for people of color accused of dealing drugs — both in the United Kingdom and the United States — and even called for the judge who issued the ruling to be locked up.
A post shared by Charles M. Blow (@charlesmblow) on Jan 4, 2019 at 4:31am PST
Two white British men caught dealing cocaine & cannabis. Judge refuses to send them to prison b/c he was “so impressed by their texting grammar”😳
Compared to UK Whites—Blacks:
?Searched 8x more often
?Arrested 3.5x more often
?Prosecuted 4x more oftenhttps://t.co/rS77okQdfg— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) January 4, 2019
Wow! Imagine only if these two white man were ordinary two black guys? #BlackLivesMatter #LegalizeMarijuana Student drug dealers spared jail as judge says he was impressed by the grammar in their text messages – The Telegraph https://t.co/G6c21le8JF
— Ally (@1512ways) January 3, 2019
This is bullshit :
Student drug dealers spared jail as judge says he was impressed by the grammar in their text messages' | via @telegraph https://t.co/35xusG73tY
— Karolina Demetriou (@CarolineMen1) January 4, 2019
Isn’t this preferential treatment discriminatory? Would a couple of kids from a housing scheme, who couldn’t spell, be granted such a magnanimous sentence?
and Student drug dealers spared jail after judge impressed by flawless grammar – The Independent https://t.co/UgnZ0tUcqt
— Happy Masked Guy (@guy_masked) January 4, 2019
Judge David Hale should go to jail for this 🤬
Student drug dealers spared jail after impressing judge with grammar https://t.co/1paCc7epi4 via @MailOnline— Nurudeen Kallon (@TFMSalone) January 3, 2019
Judge Hale told Rance and Kerrison that he was glad they hadn’t gotten into trouble since their arrest over a year ago, as The Telegraph reports.
“I hope a court never sees either of you again,” he said.
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