Law and disorder
In response to Michael Dickinson’s March 21 article on bail reform, I could not have said it better myself. My daughter received a traffic ticket in Atlanta, and as a result I can surely understand why Mr. Nichols did what he did. Go to the courtrooms in Atlanta and you will not believe what goes on there. My daughter’s ticket required five trips to Atlanta and $500, 70 hours of community service, defensive driving school, a “Teen Learning Control Program” (a joke), a 10-page report on the consequences of speeding and proof of her grade point average. We were lucky her officer did not show up for court or you could add 6 months suspended drivers license to the list – all because she is under 22 years old. I might add that due to a clerical error her license was suspended for the 6 months – although we were not aware of this until the suspension was over when we received a registered letter explaining how to get it back. She was supposidly going 88 miles per hour in a 55 zone. There were no speed limit signs posting the speed (I checked). Others there were going 70 or higher (I checked). She had 3 witnesses who said that she was not driving that fast and another BMW like hers passed her just prior to being pulled over. No attorney even gave us a hope to get off. They all said, “Atlanta is a horrible place!” So we had to rely on the public defender’s office. The black women there seemed like they did a fairly good job. The rest of them were jokes. We got the biggest joke of all!
The last day in court I had to leave the room because a black teenage boy was being verbally abused by Judge Gaines. I know he was telling the truth – the same thing happened to us. No matter, we were there for the last time and I was not going to get my mouth into it at that time and cost us another trip to court! I really wanted to speak up for that kid, but I knew the judge would take it out on my daughter and I wanted that even less. I kept silent only by leaving the room. I could not bear to watch what was happening to that kid.
Go there and watch – you will see the injustice! I never once went to a court where I didn’t see someone treated horribly. I have written several people before and no one seems to care. I live in Alabama, and therefore I have neither the time nor the resources to help. I wish I had done more. Maybe Mr. Nichols would have been treated better and those people would be alive today. I pray his actions will not go unnoticed. He sat in that jail for about 7 months and he was supposed to be innocent until proven guilty? He (I’m sure) lost his job, car, apartment or home, credit, etc. Even if he was innocent, he became the victim of that place. I don’t approve of his killing anyone for any reason. I can understand why he snapped and did it. They had better understand it or it will happen again. People will not allow anyone to treat them this way – even the courts.
Please follow this story and let the facts come out. Please disclose this court system. Please help this to never happen again.
Sincerely,
Kathy Estes