I can't imagine that, in the case of a white judge removing black prisoners from their cells and paddling them in a storage closet near his office, the NAACP would be far more interested in the prisoners' side, even if they suspected that the prisoners had been coerced into testifying against the judge.

But the scenario I just described wasn't exactly how the case went. It's was a black Mobile County, Ala. judge who was paddling the inmates, at least a few of whom I would suspect are black. And the local NAACP is railing against the District Attorney for, what they call, criminal coercion of the inmates. Lawyers correct me here, but isn't it perfectly lawful to offer a reduced sentence in exchange for information on a crime? I'm not saying the DA was on the up-and-up — if he wasn't, he deserves to be punished in some way — but the NAACP isn't saying that this weirdo didn't spank a bunch of prisoners, either.

From a media standpoint, at least, this is not a situation that can be blamed on the judge being black. Actually, as I was reading the story, I assumed the judge was white until I got to the part about the NAACP defending him.

There are so many black people out there who get unfair shakes they don't deserve. Can the NAACP focus more attention on them and leave the should-have-known-better Michael Vicks and Paddling Judges to their own devices, please? Time will tell whether this is a worthy cause for the NAACP or not. My gut feeling is that it isn't.

[WKRG]