I have nothing sensible to say about the pathetic and desperate young Nebraska man who, believing he had nothing else to live for, decided to get famous by shooting nine Christmas shoppers dead. So, instead, I offer another, far milder kind of criminal justice story, yet one with its own implications.
Picture this: A mild-mannered 29-year-old woman named Jameelah Medina, who is also a Claremont College graduate student and a Muslim, was caught riding the Metrolink with an expired pass. Okay, not permissible, but not exactly a crime to bring down the empire and possibly even an honest mistake. Ms. Median was detained by policed and driven to the San Bernardino County Jail where she was held from six in the morning until evening, then released to her family.
Aside from questionable wisdom of putting someone in the (already overcrowded) slammer for riding the Metro with an expired pass, there was the issue with Ms. Medina’s head scarf. As I mentioned above, Medina is a Muslim and, in keeping with her religion, wears hijab, a headscarf, when in public.
So what did the SB Sheriff’s deputy’s do when confronted with the not very dangerous, but hijabed Ms. Medina?
They forcibly removed her head covering—a move that was neither appropriate nor very smart nor, I am betting, very legal.
Not surprisingly, the So Cal ACLU has taken her case and is suing the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department for violating Ms. Medina’s right to religious freedom. If I were the SB Sheriff’s office I’d settle and be quick about it. The ACLU is holding a press conference on the issue this morning.
And while we’re on the subject of jails and prisons, yesterday the Department of Justice announced that, as of the end of last year, one in every 31 adults in the United States was in prison, in jail or on probation or parole. (Here’s what the NY Times wrote about the issue.)
Run those numbers once more in your mind to make sure you get them: One in thirty-one. Now matter how you look it, that kind of ratio is not healthy for a country, any country.
Guess what. The fact that one in thirty-one people have been involved in the justice system just might mean that our law enforcement is doing a good job of catching law breakers–not a bad job. To you, the glass is half empty.
I think that arresting the woman for an expired transit pass was dumb, but I see reason in wanting the scarf removed once arrested. One, it could be in her own self-interest if placed in a holding pen with other women, where it could be used to choke someone. But, the main need would be for a police mug shot, where they need to see the entire head. Even Stevie Wonder would have to remove his sun glasses.
As I opened the comments link, I said to myself “Woody is going to have some nonsense up rationalizing this.”
You were half right. I did put something up but not what you expected. I’m usually confident of my position if the ACLU is on the other side.
Try shop lifting a $5 item a Walmart and see where that ride takes you.
Hey, Pokey, welcome back. We’ve missed you.
Yeah it was too sane around here!
Celeste, I’m afraid that the ACLU won’t get very far. A few years ago (the 80’s I believe) the Supremes ruled that the Air Force was within its rights to cashier a dentist who was an Orthodox Jew and insisted on wearing his yarmulke with his uniform. The USAF said it violated “Good Order and Disclipline” and Scalia, who wrote the opinion, agreed. He said – in effect – “tough Nougies”- since Jews are a minority and the majority Christians get to make the rules. I kid you not.
Anyone looking at the Air Force Academy lately has probably heard of the “Bible Study Groups” there harranging anyone one his doesn’t “Love” Jesus. Guess she’ll have to wait till all those Muslims that Mike Savage and Glenn Beck worry about take over.
I don’t know of any Christian groups that “harangue” anyone who doesn’t love Jesus, but I do know of Islamic groups who behead people who don’t love Mohammad.
I believe that you mean Allah, Woody. Mohammed is just a prophet in Islam, as is Jesus.
There can be a number of reasons for the 1 in 31 stats, (the actual percentage is 2.46% which works out closer to 1 in 40)not the least of which is an increasing belief that people are not responsible for their actions. Specifically those who hold some up as perpetual “victims.”
The Sherrifs office doubtlessly ASKED her first to remove her headscarf, but as with all arrests (whether stupid or not) the arresting or incarcerating officer MUST make sure that no weapons or contraband are hidden in the hijab. That is only common sense. I’m sorry the gal was arrested, that was dumb, but I hope the courts are smart enough to throw out her suit or at least not find in her favor.
Not clear on how a high incarceration rate indicates “an increasing belief that people are not responsible for thier actions.”
Stubborn things:
Despite her repeated requests to keep her head covered during her day-long incarceration, she was forced to remove her hijab in the presence of men she did not know and to remain uncovered for much of the day.
“I tried to tell the officer not to make me remove it because it is part of my religion,” said Medina. “Even after the officer had searched me and found nothing, she would not give me back my scarf. I felt humiliated, exposed.”
Medina was never prosecuted in connection with this arrest.
…
Other correctional systems, including the federal prisons, allow women to wear headscarves when they are in jail or prison…
(from the ACLU’s article)
hijab=jihad
you can’t be too careful these days.sometimes racial profiling works. let’s not forget that terrorists do like to attack on trains, so I could see how her expired pass would raise suspicions (along with her hijab).
as far as removal of the head scarf. i think you won’t find a sympathetic jury anywhere.
Yeah, if I were going to launch a terrorist attack on a train, I’d definitely attempt to get on first with an expired pass.
(I would recommend Depends for the post-9/11 Pants-Wetting crowd.)
If you’ve seen one mug shot of a woman wearing a burka, you’ve seen them all. “Yeah, Officer, I picked her out from the pictures. That’s her all right. Maybe it’s the eyes that gave it away.”
I don’t wet my pants over terrorist attempts, as I give our administration credit for keeping the terrorists in check. I’ll worry if the Democrats are ever in charge of national security.
However, I don’t think that this woman was accused of being a terrorist. The fact that she was looking for a “free ride” is proof that she’s a Democrat–which, come to think of it, is a group that coddles terrorists along with the ACLU.
BTW, Celeste, that is the worst picture that you’ve ever used besides the ones of Hillary. It looks like you took a picture of a figurine in a manger scene.
About the photo, I didn’t know what the woman looked like (at the press conference, which occurred after I posted, people were asked not to photograph her in any way that was recognizable). So, rather than choose a photo of a woman in a hijab that might be mistaken for her, I chose this thingy with the plastic model. It is a bit weird though.
RLC, thanks for the legal reference. Interesting.
I understand the need for a search if there was an actual arrest involved. But it could have easily been done by a female and then the head covering could have been returned to her. Saying it had to be removed for safety reasons is no more valid than saying her clothes needed to be removed for safety reasons.
The woman in question is actually an African-American with an American homegrown accent, so that might have confused the arresting officers (not that it’s an excuse or SHOULD affect the treatment. Why she was arrested makes no sense — normally there’s just a fine for such offenders. If she couldn’t pay it then, is it standard to arrest people? I’d hope not — that’s what they do in China, as a way to shake down taxi drivers from outside the province: they catch them in minor traffic infractions, demand large fines and put them in prison until it’s paid. (I was able to talk the arresting officers out of doing that for my driver, but he said on his own, he’d have been arrested for sure.) Surely we’re not sinking to that level — this wasn’t a shakedown, just a gross breakdown in our system.
I agree with Celeste, that they’d need to remove the scarf to book her and search it — anything could be smuggled in under there, and there are increasingly women being used for terrorism, as well as surrogates for domestic incarcerated gang members, if you followed the MSM stories just yesterday — but then they could give it back.
On the other hand, I understand they also removed belts and anything a prisoner could use to harm/ hang him/ herself with, so maybe it’s a matter of policy which needs to be changed. Personally, I think the lack of dignity all women are treated with, as in being forced to used toilets open to anyone walking by the cell, even for non-violent offenders like Paris Hilton (who allegedly only used it late at night and hardly ate, to avoid usage) is unnecessarily degrading.
Building someone’s spirit like that (IF they’re a nonviolent offender) doesn’t help their mental rehabilitation any, may just make them more resentful of the system.
I meant, last para, “Breaking down someone’s spirit like that…”
Maggie, when I posted there was no info on her race. But I sorta guessed she might be at least part African American after I Googled her and read some of her poetry. Interesting. From her work, she struck me as a smart cookie.
I agree in particular with your last ‘graph. There’s a terrific book called Violence by former clinical director of mental health services for the Massachusetts prison system, James Gilligan. It gets less interesting halfway through, but the first part is completely brilliant. Gilligan makes the case that most violence is shame-based. There’s more to it, but that’s the one-sentence log line.
Anyway, Gilligan would definitely agree with you.