When Attorney General Eric Holder expressed concern about Wall Street banks being too big to prosecute for fear of having "a negative impact on the national economy," Federal Judge Jed Rakoff shot back, "To a federal judge, who takes an oath to apply the law equally to rich and poor, this excuse"is frankly disturbing for what it says about the department's apparent disregard for equality under the law. If you're going to put people in jail for having a joint in their pocket"you cannot let people [at HSBC] who laundered $850 million for the worst drug offenders in the world walk."
But perhaps it is Matt Taibbi, author of The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap, who says it best. "It is grotesque to consider the non-enforcement of white collar criminals when you consider how incredibly aggressive law enforcement is with regard to everyone else."
No doubt Cecily McMillan, the kids trapped on Rikers Island, Antonio Bascaro and so many more like them, agree and find a modicum of solace in knowing that a few of us get just how bad our two-tiered system of justice is, and are taking the trouble to call for reform.
[cross-posted with Daily Kos)(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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