Justice Takes A Day Off in Long Beach

In a follow-up to this post, sentences were handed down yesterday to the first four defendants in the Long Beach hate crimes beating trial. Nine black teenagers were convicted of the racially-motivated beating of three white girls on Halloween night last year, and it looks like the juvenile court system has badly failed the victims in this case:

LONG BEACH - Four of nine black teens convicted in the beating of three young white women were sent home Friday in a judge's ruling that stunned both sides in the case.

Tears of joy were shed by relatives of the first convicted teen to hear his sentence of probation with 60 days of house arrest.

At the same time, one of the victims - 19-year-old Laura - collapsed onto her mother's shoulder and sobbed as members of her family shook their heads in disbelief.

All four of the teens sentenced Friday - the 18-year-old male, his 18-year-old twin sister, his 16-year-old younger sister and his 16-year-old girlfriend - were sentenced to house arrest and probation.

At the urging of Deputy District Attorney Andrea Bouas, Judge Gibson Lee also ordered all four to undergo family, racial tolerance and anger management counseling, provide restitution to the victims, complete 250 hours of community service and spend 60 days under house arrest.

Had the colors been reversed, and nine white kids had been convicted of a racially-motivated beating of three black girls, there's no way they would have gotten probation or house arrest. And if they had, there would have been riots in the streets of Long Beach. The judge blew this one badly and there will be repercussions for a long time to come.