What Passes for Justice
Jul 23rd, 2005 at 10:39 am by Susie
This story in today’s Daily News illustrates the punitive and idiotic way we dole out “justice” - instead of developing fair and consistent policies.
A legal immigrant - employed in a good job, married, two kids - is going to be deported after he was cleared of a recent high-profile subway rape. Charges against the man, Omar Lezama Dela-Rosa, were dropped after police picked up and charged Omar’s half-brother, who is said to bear a strong resemblance.
Why Dela-Rosa is being deported was not clear last night, but the Weinstocks believe it involves a 1999 crime that Dela-Rosa was involved with.
In the incident, they said, he assaulted a police officer but received house arrest instead of jail time because the officer assaulted testified on Dela-Rosa’s behalf.
The family said the D.A. also asked for Dela-Rosa’s minimum sentence to be reduced, and they asked that he not be deported.
Now, six years later, the man his mother-in-law, Jami Weinstock, describes as leading a “model life,” could have that life turned upside down.
Welcome to the Matrix.
He has only himself to blame. He shouldn’t have been brown.
“The key to a long and happy life is to pick your parents carefully.”