www.justiceblind.com

As an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Appalachian, I am shocked by the recent robbery of a student on campus by other students. Even more shocking than the crime is that some of the students originally thought to be victims were allegedly in on the crime. Still worse than that is that when the real victim misidentified the robber as a black male, the other supposed victims in his car (who are now alleged to be co-conspirators in the robbery) went along with the story and said that, yes, the offender was a black male.

 Local media accounts reported this as fact and the crime thus fit the profile of the stereotypical image of crime in the United States – an innocent white victim harassed and menaced by a dangerous black male with a gun. The account of the crime fit nicely with other crimes that got national attention, such as the case of Susan Smith in South Carolina. Smith alleged that her children were kidnapped in her car when a black male carjacked her at a stop light. As it turned out, Smith drove her own car into a lake with her children strapped into their seats and watched them slowly drown.

 The crime on Appalachian’s campus also fits with the case of Charles Stuart, who claimed to have been shot in the stomach by a black man while driving his car in Boston with his pregnant wife after attending a child birth class. Stuart’s wife was killed and his unborn baby (who was delivered by caesarean section) later died as well. An innocent black man was arrested after Stuart identified him in a line-up. Shortly thereafter, Stuart’s brother told police that Stuart murdered his wife and shot himself to cover up the crime. His brother met Stuart on the night of the crime and helped him hide evidence.

 Thanks to very good and quick work by Appalachian police, the truth in the campus robbery was discovered that the offender was not a black male. Yet, we have yet another case that illustrates how misperceptions of crime are reinforced by mistaken identification of blacks as offenders.

 In this case, the offenders themselves are responsible for this misperception. Exacerbating racial animosity, whether intended or not, aggravates the nature of this robbery. It thus calls for tougher punishment than would be handed down if the victim were “merely” robbed.