Pittsburgh Judge, Citing Race Refuses Plea Bargain To “White Boy”
When Jeffery McGowan, 24 went before Common Pleas Judge Joseph K. Williams in Pittsburgh, it was for something pretty stupid. He had scuffled with cops after being pulled over. He had put up his hands and been belligerant towards the arresting officer, and as a result was charged with aggravated assault, terrorist threats, resisting arrest, obstructing the administration of law and improperly turning without a signal by Pittsburgh police officer Paul Abel.
As often occurs, McGowan was offered a plea bargain of 3 months probation if he agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct. Working in McGowan’s favor was a record of no prior brushes with the law.
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported that Judge Joseph Williams rejected the plea bargain, stating as follows.
“I’m just telling you what my observation is. If this had been a black kid who did the same thing, we wouldn’t be talking about three months’ probation.”
Defense attorney Giuseppe Rosell, clearly stunned at the judge’s statement asked if the judge was rejecting the plea bargain because McGowan was white. Judge Williams replied as follows.
“Not because he’s white, but because it’s a ridiculous plea that only goes to white boys that come into this court for the same facts, and I’m not going for it.”
Mike Manko, a spokesman for District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr, defended the offer extended by his office, noting that the officer in the case was not injured and had agreed to the plea bargain. Additionally, he defended the integrity of all who worked in his office, noting as follows.
“Negotiated pleas are never based on the race of a particular defendant but rather on the behavior of the defendant and the facts associated with that behavior. The assistant district attorneys who handled this plea on behalf of the commonwealth have outstanding reputations, and we firmly stand behind their integrity and the integrity of all of our prosecutors.”
Judge Williams ended up recusing himself from the case, which was reassigned to Judge Randal B. Todd, who ended up approving the plea bargain for the reasons cited by the defense.
Not surprisingly, Judge Williams was not available for comment. Citing the race of a defendant when passing sentence is considered highly irregular under our nation’s laws. Fortunately, McGowan had a lawyer who would not accept such overt bias in the handling of his client’s case.
How much longer will Joseph K. Williams remain on the bench? and in how many other cases did race play a role in his deliberations?
