Juaquin Mobley - Arbitrary Penalty

Arbitrary Penalty :1: not supported by fair or substantial cause or reason. Most often it is used in reference to a judge's ruling. 2.Established by a court or judge rather than by a specific law or statute:

Our criminal justice system exemplifies the way institutionalized prejudice can negatively affect minorities. African Americans are over-represented in every step of the criminal justice system from informal contact with the system and arrests to sentencing and even capital punishment. The disparity within the system is reminiscent of the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia in which the death penalty was declared unconstitutional due to the fact that it was arbitrary, had extreme racial and economic imbalances, and did not provide sufficient due process safeguards. Arbitrary penalty continues to be a major contributing factor in the unjust incarceration of youth today. Juaquin Mobley is subject to this stipulation.

Juaquin is a young, black, fearless junior achiever to say the least. Stemming from his elementary days, he has always displayed the qualities of a leader. Juaquin has had multiple certificates of achievement from his performance as an athlete and his stellar accomplishments in academics. Being around criminal activity was a part of life. Sadly, the purported glamour of such a lifestyle can be hypnotic. Juaquin is not the typical product of his environment; he has fallen victim to his environment, but persevered to become a college-bound entrepreneur.

Juaquin is enrolled in New York Universitys fashion designer program, and is seven credits short from becoming a Bachelor of Fashion Design. Unfortunately, Juaquin has committed a crime and is now incarcerated. I cannot go into the details of the crime because he is still a suspect and there is no official ruling as to his plea or sentence. A judge, who claims Juaquin is a flight risk, sets Juaquins bond at $250,000 arbitrarily. The standard bond for Juaquins criminal offences is $25,000. Juaquins residency is in Colorado; he is an out-of-state student. Colorado is the state he committed the crime in! The typical sentence for his crimes is 6 to 10 years in prison. The courts recommendation is 20 to 30. This is clearly evidence of discrimination in our justice system. Arbitrary penalty is legal in our state, therefore giving our judicial system the power to give unfair sentences for erroneous reasons.

This petition is not designed to try to acquit or justify Juaquins actions. His character should not be taken into consideration when crime that he committed is very serious; his prosecution should be taken seriously. However, the right to a fair trial is explicitly proclaimed in Article Ten of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution.

Please sign this petition to give Juaquin a fair trial with fair conditions.