Louisiana Civil Rights Activist Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison
On June 1, a week past her 31st birthday, civil rights activist Catrina Wallace was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. This was first arrest for Wallace, a single mother who became politically active when her brother was arrested in the case that later became known as the “Jena Six.” Wallace was part of a small group of family members and friends who built a movement that eventually brought 50,000 people to a September 2007 march in the small northern Louisiana town of Jena. The mass movement eventually led to freedom for the six young men, who have since gone on to college.
On March 31, a 12-person jury with one Black member convicted Wallace of three counts of distribution of a controlled substance. At her June 1 sentencing, Wallace received 5 years for each count, to be served consecutively. Even in Louisiana, the incarceration capital of the US, fifteen years for a first offense is somewhat exceptional, as is the stacking of consecutive sentences. “I’ve never seen a judge run anything consecutive, certainly not for drugs or a first offender,” says Miles Swanson, an attorney in private practice who used to work
