A white woman who spat on a BLM protestor has had her hate crime and other charges dismissed by a judge on Friday. The victim, Keren Prescott, feels that the justice system “failed” her by allowing the woman to go through a special probation program instead of serving time.
Tensions between the two groups, and especially the two women, escalated to the point where when Prescott told Gilshteyn to back away from her due to her lack of masking. In response, the assailant spit on her.
To elude hate crime charges, the anti-masker’s defense urged that his client’s motive was not racially charged, but the tense situation prompted her wrongful action. The judge presiding over the case, Hartford Superior Court Judge Sheila Prats, concluded that while the deed was “despicable,” it still fell under the requirements for one to bypass a criminal record if they are a first-time offender.
However, not all are pleased with the Judge’s decision. Prescott slammed the outcome, telling the judge that the verdict feels like “being spit on once again.”
She also declared that this is another occurrence of Brown and Black people being let down by the criminal justice system, implying the results unfairly benefit the white woman who assaulted her.
The usage of the special probation program for Gilshteyn, who was on the opposing side of the BLM protestors, is especially concerning to those advocating for the racial justice movement. The incident is another in a growing list of those attacking BLM protestors without facing any serious prison time.
Source: Black Enterprise
