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Too ‘White’ For Jail?
Tampa Judge Says Prison ‘Cruel and Unusual’ for Thin, White Man
The Associated Press
T A M P A, Fla., Jan. 6
— A judge refused to send a drug offender to
prison, saying that because he is thin and white he would be a
target for sexual assault.
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Instead, Hillsborough County Judge Florence Foster sent Paul
Hamill, 41, to a treatment center and put him on two years
probation. He was being sentenced for violating probation on a
previous cocaine conviction.
“He’s a small, thin, white man with curly dark hair, and I
suspect he would certainly become a sexual target in the Florida
state prison system,” Foster said, according to a transcript of
the November sentencing hearing.
“I’ve been told they can’t protect people like that. I’m not
going to send a man like this to Florida state prison. That is
cruel and unusual punishment in my book,” she said.
Prosecutors objected when Foster imposed the sentence, saying he
deserved some prison time, but would not comment on Foster’s
statement when reached by The Tampa Tribune. They have complained
in the past about the light sentences they say Foster imposes.
‘A Fairly Racist Comment’
Susan Rush, a law professor at the University of Florida in
Gainesville, thinks Foster’s statement about Hamill was
inappropriate.
“That’s a fairly racist comment,” Rush said Friday evening.
“I can see why the prosecutors are mad.”
Foster declined to discuss Hamill’s case specifically, but said
her general goal is to “help people with drug problems get rid of
their drug problems.”
Bruce Rogow, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University in
Davie, praised her decision in the Hamill case.
“I think it’s a statement of great sensitivity; she is probably
trying to save this man’s life,” Rogow said. “But I recognize
there might be an issue.”
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Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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