Once upon a time, Kamala Harris, now the Vice President, acted as a self-appointed guardian of the law in the San Francisco Bay Area. Scrutinizing her background, it becomes clear that there are some eyebrow-raising facets to her career. The New York Times managed to dig up records from those days, hoping to shed light on her way of thinking and problem-solving.
During the final week leading up to the election, the Vice President had the audacity to use her past as part of her closing narrative. Interestingly, this courtroom past she so often references, is filled with contentious points that beg a closer examination. She spent her formative career years wielding power over the life and liberty of individuals, an authority she seemed to relish.
At the outset, Ms. Harris was merely a fledgling attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of her work involved prosecuting individuals accused of heinous crimes such as murder and rape. Her courtroom approach was one aimed at persuading jurors using a disturbingly manipulative technique of presenting only those facts that cemented her case.
She particularly seemed to relish playing the voice for women, an ostentatious stance she has continued to monetize in her political career. Her patience wore thin for male defendants, an antipathy that had an odd scent of personal vengeance, and this often played into her predisposition for tougher sentencing against them.
Her tactics during closing arguments can, in a way, be considered masterful. The highlight was her review of the case against Bailey, one she apparently thought was a bright point in her career. She litigated this case in a way that bordered on tedious, but she countered this dully diligent approach with seemingly casual references to pop culture.
The appeal to popular television dramas like ‘Columbo’ or talk about the frustrating traffic situation around the court may have appealed to the jury’s familiar routines, creating an aura of relatability. It was a classic case of manipulation: she presented herself as someone the jurors could identify with, a tactic aimed at gaining their trust.
As a result, Bailey faced a second-degree murder conviction, a questionable victory for Ms. Harris. It seems fair to speculate whether her approach led to a fair trial. The consequences of her hard-nosed prosecution strategy were grave; Bailey was handed a sentence of 19 years to life.
In another instance, with Mr. Abebe as the accused, Ms. Harris unabashedly chose to speak in place of the deceased woman instead of allowing the facts of the case to speak for themselves. Resultantly, Abebe was also convicted of second-degree murder.
He wound up with 19 years to life and now resides in a California state prison. One cannot help but wonder how fair his trial was, given Ms. Harris’ predisposition to maneuver facts so they fit her desired narrative rather than the exact truth of the situation.
In a separate case against Carven Evans and Ralph Lee Jr., both relatively young men in their 20s at the time, the charges were of raping a minor among other related accusations. Seeing a pattern? The prosecutors under Harris’s baton, with her blessing no doubt, handed out sentences with a certain gleeful abandon.
Evans was the unlucky recipient of an 18-year sentence. Lee didn’t fare much better; he was locked away for 14 years. The question worth asking here is if these cases had been presented without the bias inherent in Ms. Harris’s approach, would the outcomes have been the same?
This data dredged from the past might seem like a mere peek into Ms. Harris’s mindset. However, it provides enough evidence of a worrying sequence of heavy-handed prosecutions. It brings one to question whether the scales of justice tipped properly in these cases or if her professional ambitions clouded her sense of justice.
These disquieting beginnings speak volumes about the woman who now holds a significant amount of power in our country. While devoid of conclusive proof of any wrongdoing on her part, these prosecutions under her toughness-first approach cast a long shadow on her commitment to fair justice.
A Dark Glimpse into Kamala Harris’ Ruthlessly Ambitious Past appeared first on Real News Now.