George:

Downing Smith was disturbed by Alvin Edwards' comments on March 26, 2002, about the fact (or what seemed to be the fact at the time) that only black students had been charged, and that there were white students who had also been involved, but had not been charged.

On April 9, it was revealed that one white juvenile had also been charged, and had entered into a guilty plea along the lines of the guilty pleas that the black students entered into. I don't know when she was charged, but I am fairly certain that she wasn't charged back in February, when the black students had been charged and at a time when her role as driver of the "getaway car" was already known to the police. I don't know if she had been charged before March 26, but if she had been, certainly no one knew it.

I think that the police and the prosecutors ultimately got things figured out pretty accurately. At the time that Alvin made his statement, it sure looked like only black kids were getting prosecuted when at least one white kid who was similarly situated was not being prosecuted.

Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, April 12, 2002)