Brian Havig

Shackett

English-117

5/21/2019

The Sentencing of Richard

It is said that the law is blind, that no man or woman is above another in the eyes of the

law. This idea is a cornerstone of our justice system, allowing for equality. In “The 57 Bus”

Richard is convicted of a serious crime that leaves an individual horribly scarred, and was up for

consideration of a hate crime. We are given an in-depth look into the background of Richard and

the transgender individual who was harmed by Richard’s actions. Richard is a minor, and should

be considered a minor under the law in hopes that during his punishment he can turn his life

around and improve his future.

Being a minor, Richard should be treated less harshly under the law than if he was an

adult. There are crimes where a minor should be treated as an adult, and we have laws that allow

for that. This is to prevent an individual who is just under the age of eighteen from committing

a horrendous crime and getting a lesser sentence. The book offers us a unique view into

Richard’s life, one that we do not normally get when looking at criminals. The police who

interviewed Richard claims that he said that he was homophobic, that he hates gay people. This

accusation increases Richard’s action to a hate crime. Richard himself said, “I wouldn’t say I

hate gay people, but I’m very homophobic”. (140) These two statements are contradictory. He

does not hate gay people yet he is homophobic. Richard clearly does not know what the word

homophobic truly means. The officers that interviewed him however, did not have access to this

book as it had, obviously, not been published yet, so when they looked at Richard it would be
safe to assume they jumped at several assumptions. This incident spawned a movement known

as “NO H8,” a movement that focused on bringing awareness to the hatred experienced by

homosexual and other individuals. I remember hearing about this movement when it first

started, but I had no idea what had caused it to start. Looking back now I can see why the media

and society would latch onto this event as a hate crime and use it to fuel their movement,

however, no one truly knew the full extent of the case and were only given an outside

perspective. Is that fair? Criminals do not normally have a book written about them that gives

an in-depth look into their lives and why they did what they did. Given now that I have read the

book, it would be impossible for me to ignore the extra information afforded to me. Richard

should be tried as a minor and he should not be tried for a hate crime.

After being tried as a minor, the next step is to decide how long Richard should be put

away for. He made a mistake, a terrible one, and needs to be punished for it. I do not believe,

however, that locking him away for the rest of his life will help him. As horrible as the situation

was, no one died. Richard’s intention were never for anyone to get hurt. The objective of the

justice system is to act as a deterrent to citizens from committing crimes, and to act as

punishment for those that do. Ideally, the system will work and spit Richard back out into the

world a changed man and, hopefully, leave him off better than he was. Several years in a

juvenile corrections facility in which he is closely monitored, structured, and worked would help

keep Richard on track, but also serve as a punishment. Add several years to the initial sentence

and offer incentives to reduce that time for cooperation and good behavior. This will incentivize

Richard to stay on his path. This is a punishment after all, the threat of being dragged off to

prison for a longer sentence should always be there as a reminder.

 Because of the severity of his crime, Richard could have possibly spent a long time in

federal prison. Again, The 57 Bus offers us a unique insight into the personality and past of

Richard. I believe that federal prison would hinder Richard’s recovery and rehabilitation. He is

already being led down a bad path and throwing him in prison with hardened criminals will only

encourage that direction. In a youth correctional facility he will be instead encouraged to focus

on improving himself, along with the possibility of reducing his sentence.

Fines are non-negotiable. Richard should pay the normal amount for causing bodily

harm to a person. This does not change because of intent. The fine goes along with the idea that

this is a punishment for his actions. Though we are assessing him a lesser sentence for being a

minor and not considering it a hate crime, there still needs to be a reinforcing punishment

attached to it. Richard writes to Sasha “I was wrong for what I did. I was wrong. I had no

reason to do that to you I don’t know what was going through my head at the time”. (180)

Richard is sorry for his actions, and knows what he did was wrong. Attaching punishments to his

crime reminds him of what he did wrong. We do not want him to receive a slap on the wrist and

walk home, we want to reinforce to Richard, and those watching, that he is being punished for

his actions, but not in a way that will ruin his chance at a life.

In the end, I agree with the sentencing Richard was given. I do not agree with him being

tried as an adult and the courts giving his name and information out to the media. Public

reaction and outrage can be overblown and cause repercussions in the justice system. Many

people watch court cases such as these and “root” for a sentencing as if they were cheering for a

sports team. Its wrong. If I had not read The 57 Bus I would have probably thought very

differently about my sentencing of Richard. Not every criminal has the luxury of having a book
written about them, and luckily for Richard this one paints him in a better light than the media

did.