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Not Guilty By Reason of SlaveryA case of "The Man"-slaughter?by Sean Carter In the 21st century, excuses are like SUVs: everyone seems to have one. This is particularly true in the legal system, where every criminal defendant has an excuse for his actions. There’s the abuse excuse and of course, the insanity defense. There’s even diminish capacity, which is a fancy way of saying, “I was too drunk, high and/or stupid to know what I was doing.” Yet, an Oregon man has recently raised the excuse bar by claiming … get this … the slavery defense. As a defense to murder, Isaac Cortez Bynum is claiming that the killing wasn’t his fault because centuries of slavery have made him violent. Of course, there are two major problems with this defense, the first of which is that slavery was ended almost 140 years ago. Therefore, unless Bynum was once married to my wife, he has no firsthand experience with the practice of slavery. The second problem with this defense is that it’s just plain dumb. In fact, if it were any dumber, it could coordinate U.S. foreign policy. After all, Bynum isn’t accused of killing his white slave-driving boss. If that were the case, then his defense would almost make sense (particularly if he was employed at my last company). However, in this case, Bynum took out of his centuries of oppression on another black person – his very own son. Yet, these little “technicalities” haven’t deterred Bynum and his lawyer from making the slavery argument. This is partly because of the support they’ve received from Joy DeGruy-Leary, an assistant professor in the Portland State University Graduate School of Social Work. The good professor has testified that past centuries of slavery have traumatized black people to such an extent that we’re all now as crazy as Howard Dean. Sadly, DeGruy-Leary, who is also black, doesn’t seem to realize that the implications of her argument could lead to a racial divide as wide as Rosie O’Donnell’s hips. If it’s true that African-Americans are prone to violence due to slavery, then white people have every reason to stay away from us. In fact, if this theory is true, then I need to seriously consider leaving my black wife and children before they take out their centuries of frustration on the person who regularly makes fun of them in this column – me. Seriously, DeGruy-Leary’s post-traumatic slavery theory is nothing short of black-on-black crime. In an attempt to free a killer, she has done violence to the vast majority of peaceful African-Americans who don’t regularly have slavery flashbacks. In fact, if DeGruy-Leary was white and had advanced this theory, she would be in serious trouble. After being branded as a racist, her career options would be limited to a talk-radio host or the U.S. Attorney General. And while this may be a step forward in her career, the slavery defense is a giant step back for African Americans. The last thing we need is for a black professor to reinforce negative stereotypes. After all, I thought that was the job of the executives at the WB. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m running late for a drive-by. Peace out! ________________________________ Sean is a practicing attorney who writes a weekly humor column on current legal events called "Lawpsided." Lawpsided pieces appear in a growing number of general circulation papers across the country, including The Los Angeles Times. Moreover, his musings on the law appear on nationally recognized websites, such as jewishworldreview.com, findlaw.com, newsmax.com and etherzone.com, and legal publications, such as The National Law Journal and The Los Angeles Daily Journal. Lastly, he is a regular contributor to national magazines like Razor and Tirade. If you would be interested in publishing this piece or seeing other samples of his work, please feel free to contact him by e-mail, by phone at (626) 786-2095, or through his website at:
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