Uber Eats driver, aged 66, was carjacked by 2 girls aged 13 and 15. They allegedly used a stun gun to disable him, then pushed him out of the car which crashed, killing him. They could have been charged with felony murder – causing death during a violent felony, in this case armed robbery. If they were over 18, this could have resulted in life imprisonment, or in some states the death penalty. Here juvenile law applies. The fact that the driver was of Pakistani ethnicity could have resulted in a hate-crime enhancement of the punishment, but in this case did not. Why not?
This year in DC, carjackings have surged 350% over the same time last year. And in 2020, there was a spike of nearly 150% over 2019. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, in a tone-deaf announcement, schooled citizens on preventing auto thefts by being alert. Blame the victim? Why not? Pakistani Americans have no lobbying group. They will not riot or burn police cars and businesses. Besides, Mohammed Anwar, a husband, father and grandfather, has no police record. He was not resisting arrest or high on drugs. He was merely trying to support his family by working at age 66. That is, he is one of the “little people” who can be safely ignored. And if we know anything about politicians, it is that if they can safely ignore you, they will ignore you.
His murderers, on the contrary, will be treated with kindness. Reportedly they will serve no prison time and will be off probation at age 21. How this will deter future carjackings or murders is not clear. How this reflects on our sense of justice, on the contrary, is quite clear. It illustrates perfectly the old saying that if we didn’t have double standards, we would have no standards at all.
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