Acknowledging Inequalities.

• Author: Singh, Amrita
• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

I enjoyed reading "Justice with Intent to Distribute: Pensacola Man Helped Through Program That Takes Lawyers to the Community," by Nancy Kinnally (May 2018). The article highlighted the importance and need for pro bono programs like Justice on the Block and of attorneys, like Mr. Ellis, who give their time to these programs.

What the article did not mention, but somewhat alluded to, was the racial profiling that contributed to the arrest of Mr. Gaines. The article provides that Mr. Ellis explained he was "troubled by the basis of the traffic stop--an obscured tag--and the application of a statute that, if widely enforced, would ensnare many diehard sports fans and college boosters." Mr. Ellis even admitted that he was in violation of the law with a frame around his tag. But Mr. Ellis has never been stopped, and is unlikely to ever be stopped for such a violation, because he is white. And even if he was stopped, police officers likely would not...