Not a Gentleman, but Still an Officer… State Attorney Protects Prosecutor’s Offensive Remarks about Sonia Sotomayor | Dímelo
Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Lewis, a prosecutor from Orlando, wrote a series of offensive posts on his Facebook page where he accused Sotomayor of having hit the “quota lottery” and suggested that were it not for affirmative action she would be working at a fast-food restaurant. He also attacked women and single mothers, wrote that a defendant in a pending “Stand Your Ground” case should have been executed on the spot, and called for the resignation of the prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case. Today, Ashton’s reaction was to defend his subordinate’s right to free speech and sit by his side at a press conference where Lewis offered a half-baked apology to those he “may have offended”.
————————————————–
In past posts, I’ve been very clear about Orange/Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton’s lawlessness in prosecuting both William “Tommy” Zeigler and Gary Bennett.
Governor Rick Scott knows everything I know – and more – about Ashton and his minions, so the ball is now in Scott’s court … choosing to overlook blatant racism in an election year might just topple him, along the lines of Three Strikes.
Governor Scott already demonstrated racism in destroying Charlie Crist’s semi-automated felon rights restoration program. It’s now nearly impossible for a former Florida felon to ever vote again, even for a first, nonviolent offense. Most former felons aren’t white, although they likely would be if our judicial system wasn’t a stacked deck, and not just via crack cocaine vs powder cocaine sentencing disparities, but by Ashton and his ilk.
Scott isn’t trying to win voters that aren’t white, he’s just doing his best – with the legislature’s eager assistance – to make sure that non-whites either can’t vote, or will have votes that don’t count due to the unfair redrawing of districts.
Between nearly impossible felon rights restoration and gerrymandering alone, Florida clearly leads the nation in Jim Crow behaviors … but this additional Ashton story proves that these two legalized travesties just hint at the full reality of Florida racism.
Thankfully, racist redistricting is being challenged:
The case is being heard now in Leon County Circuit Court after the League [of Women Voters] filed a lawsuit alleging that the districts violate Florida’s “Fair Districts” law, which was approved by more than 60 percent of voters in 2010. If the lawsuit succeeds, the borders will have to be redrawn before the midterm elections this fall.
But that doesn’t help those who’ve completed the conditions of their parole and face racist, insurmountable odds of regaining their voting rights. And it sure doesn’t help anyone in Orange/Osceola who’ll be subjected to Jeff Ashton’s racist, prosecutorial “leadership.”
Colorblind justice is available upon demand.
Make the demand – “share” this and similar accounts of Florida’s Scott-led rabid return to Jim Crow. Thank you.
Wobbly Warrior's Blog 