A Mississippi lawyer claims racism and gender bias have led prosecutors to charge his client with manslaughter in the hot car death of his eight-month-old daughter, while a white mother who made the same accident walks free.
Joshua Blount’s baby daughter Shania died in May, after he forgot to drop her off at her grandmother’s house and left her in his hot car all day while he worked at his job at a restaurant.
After her death, the 25-year-old grieving father was charged with second-degree murder, which was later downgraded to manslaughter.
Just a week before that deadly incident, a mother just 90 miles away in the same state committed the same mistake, leaving her 2-year-old daughter Caroline in her car for eight hours while she worked. However, the 37-year-old mother in that case, Amy Bryant, has not been charged with any crime.
Blount’s lawyer Carlos Moore says racism and gender bias play into whether police decide to charge a parent in these saddening incidents.
‘We have an African-American male who, I believe, gets less of the benefit of the doubt than anyone in the criminal justice system,’ Moore told CBS News.
Professor Matt Steffy of the Mississippi College Law School believes Blount’s charges are unfair.
‘It appears to be a coin flip,’ Steffy said. ‘If you meet the right gender and race expectations, you are treated like a grieving parent. Otherwise, you are treated like a criminal and face 20 years in prison.’