When does our supposedly unbiased, wonderful, exalted justice system fail? When it’s a crime against a transsexual, a prostitute, and/or in Texas.
Craig Nash (pictured), a former San Antonio cop, received one year in jail on a misdemeanor “official oppression” charge. He is accused of arresting a transsexual prostitute in San Antonio, handcuffing her, driving to a hidden location, and forcing her to perform multiple sex acts, all done while on duty. A rape kit confirmed Nash had raped her, and a GPS device on his patrol car backed her story.
Two days later, another victim came forward to say he had been raped by Nash.
Prosecutors in Texas agreed to a plea bargain, avoiding the felony charge of sexual assault by a police officer, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Part of the bargain included dropping the charges brought by the second victim. Nash had to agree to never work in law enforcement in Texas again.
Lawyers for Nash said he was an honored police officer who “had a lot of heroic acts,” and portrayed him as a good father with six children. The prosecution said they pursue a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony because they would have had “additional issues” to deal with.
So much for equal justice for all. Here’s yet another example of police brutality receiving merely a slap on the wrist, and a horrific sexual crime being largely ignored because the victim didn’t fit the accepted notion of “normality.”
(Hat tip: Andrea James via Boing Boing)
About Jordan
[...] Today, I had the chance to catch up on some news items that I’ve been lacking. I read about police brutality against gay men in Philadelphia, Kameron Jacobsen committing suicide after being taunted and bullied for his perceived orientation, dads being denied their names on their son’s birth certificate, and a police officer in San Antonio getting only 1 year for in jail after he raped a transgender woman WHILE on duty. [...]