William Thornton IV, a black man, skidded through a stop sign on a rainy night, and struck an SUV, killing its two occupants. He remained at the scene, and there were no drugs or alcohol in him. He had no criminal record.

Despite this, Judge Ric Howard sentenced him to 30 years in jail, after he followed his public defender’s advice, and pled guilty and threw himself on the mercy of the court.

Thankfully, a high powered law firm noticed, but had he been white, would he have served any time at all.