The Wall Street Journal runs front-page story on the disparate punishments that face Native Americans who are convicted of crimes on reservations.
On the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, Bobbi Jo Wing and her husband were convicted of arson. The fire caused the death of Wing's 15-year-old cousin, leading to an automatic felony murder charge in federal court and a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Had the incident occurred off the reservation, the charge would not have been as severe. And Wing and her husband could have been out in as little as 2.5 years if they were serving in the state system.
"It is appropriate that the defendants be seriously punished for what they did, but these life sentences do not square with my concept of justice," a judge for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said when Wing and her husband challenged their sentence.
The only option left is clemency or commutation from the White House. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected in June.
Get the Story:On Tribal Land, Tragic Arson Leads to a Life Sentence (The Wall Street Journal 8/13)
