“Did they treat you like that?” I whispered. “No, you?” “No.” We held out our wrists to compare. Shudder. Racism like that is horrifying, whether intentional or not.Over the next 24 hours, I watched as men and women came and went, many with cuts, bruises, and welts. I asked several of them how they’d been injured, and they described fierce struggles with the police. One young man cradled what he reported was a broken wrist. Another pulled up his shirt and revealed three Taser burns. Yet another removed his fitted cap and pointed to a swollen knot on his head. I exchanged uncomfortable glances with the few other white men in the cellblock.
I think it's ridiculous that the judge gave him such an extensive sentence with fines. What is he punishing the author for, for deliberately breaking the law? Most people who break the law deliberately break it. Is the judge offended and does he consider what the author did "flouting" the law perhaps? "Flagrant disregard"? But the author only showed such 'flagrant disregard' because he was treated carelessly by police, i.e., police did not arrest him on the first, second, third, etc., opportunity that was presented to him. He had to be flagrant in order to even be stopped! He had to keep turning himself in until the police finally accepted his confession! The only 'lesson' the author could learn from the judge is that the judge is unjust.
I don't understand where the yellow note came from, when his file was dropped in front of the judge.