Teen charged with sexual assault facing a life sentence in Michigan

Earlier this fall, a Michigan high school student was charged with 31 felony charges, 20 of those charges were sexual assault. Of the 20 sexual assault charges, the teen faced 13 counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and seven 7 counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct. The Livingston Daily in Michigan reported that the teen went to one of his victims home to apologize but instead forced himself on the female victim and raping her again. Hence, the teens one charge of home invasion. In Michigan, anyone that is charged with first degree sexual assault can face up to life in prison. So why wasnt this teen facing the life penalty? Due to the perpetrator being a minor, his identity has not been release. So I decided to do a little research. The high school student lives in Brighton Township where according to the 2010 census has a white population of 96.6% and a Black population of 0.8%. So I go back to my question, why wasnt this teen facing life in prison? Well, it is simple, hes white.

A Black boy is facing a LIFE SENTENCE while a privileged white boy receives 45 days in a juvenile facility for the same crime.

Last week when I was on Instagram I saw a headline that read 14 year old charged with rape of teen. I saw a Black boy as the headline image so I was immediately interested. As I clicked on the link, I was hoping that the story was false and one of those fake new post. After doing some research, I learned that it was unfortunately true. According to Fox 2 news in Detroit, 14 year old Khymani Tolbert is accused of raping a female classmate. It was reported that the victim fought with Tolbert for 25 minutes before raping the teen. Tolbert is being charged as an adult with three counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and unlawful imprisonment. For his crimes, Tolbert is facing life in prison. A Black boy is facing a LIFE SENTENCE while a privileged white boy receives 45 days in a juvenile facility for the same crime.

These are some of the disparities that we protest, the unjust discrimination Black bodies face in the eyes of the judicial system.

Both boys committed the same crime but both boys are not being held to the same standard of accountability. These are some of the disparities that we protest, the unjust discrimination Black bodies face in the eyes of the judicial system. The US sentencing commission found that Black males on an average were given 19.1 percent longer sentences than white males who committed the same crime. So why am I angry? I am angry because society continues to view Black boys as adults. I am angry because Khymani Tolbert has less charges, yet he is being tried as an adult. I am angry because Khymani Tolbert has been exposed to the media as a minor while the teenager from Brighton Township remains anonymous to the public. I am angry because Khymani could face life in prison while the teen in Brighton Township was given a plea deal serving only 45 days in a juvenile facility.

I am not saying that Khymani should receive a slap on the wrist because sexual assault should not be taken lightly, however, if the teen is going to be charged as an juvenile and given the opportunity to rehabilitate, so should Khymani. Khymani will return to court this Thursday, December 14th.