Violence is not okay.

Chris Brown Pleads Guilty To Assault. But Does His Punishment Fit The Crime?

Okay. Chris Brown pled guilty, because his attorney is intelligent enough (even if Brown isn't) to understand that had this gone to trial, he would have been found guilty. The evidence is incontrovertible. Instead of prison time, then, Brown's August 5 sentencing will likely result in "probation for 5 years and...6 months of community service" plus a restraining order separating him from Rihanna.

This is where I start to have issues with the idea of a plea deal in any case except for murder, where the accused is going to have some sort of jail time no matter what. Spare me the refrain -- "the prisons are overcrowded, etc." I have two brain cells to rub together and I know how to read, so I understand that. But, as a survivor of and witness to domestic violence, I stand before you and say without hesitation: this punishment in no way fits the crime.

What sort of message does a milquetoast slap on the wrist like this send to the perpetrator? To the victim and, in such a high-profile case as this, to the millions of people who are following or who hear/read about it?

Violence is okay.

Tell that to the person whose boyfriend or girlfriend (lest we forget that violence is an equal-opportunity offense) tried to solve last night's argument with their fists, possibly putting the victim in the hospital but definitely trapping them in a world of terror for the duration of the scene and condemning them to relive it whenever something goes just a little wrong. Try explaining to a child who heard Daddy come home yelling and sees Mommy's bruises the next morning, or the teenager who steps between them, crying for a moment of peace and getting her own bruises for the trouble.

We all have the right to live our lives without fear that anybody, let alone somebody who claims to love us, will violate us in such a heinous manner. Hence, we have an unequivocal responsibility to hold those who would try to take that right away accountable. What, one offense while on probation means prison? Spare me. People guilty of domestic violence (or really, any violence) deserve to be placed in the same position of terror and lack of control to which they subjected their victim. Prison is too good for them, but if that is our greatest punishment then that is what we should levy against them.

One final note: Judge Patricia Schnegg, before you preside over another case of violence against another human being, perhaps you should examine your own mind and heart. It is NOT commendable for a person who has committed such a horrific act to admit to doing it, especially when that admission is calculated to result in a less severe punishment. You know what is commendable? Exhibiting restraint and maturity in a tense situation and choosing not to violate the sanctity of another person's body, no matter how angry you are. Personally, I think you should lose your position, but sadly you will probably get nothing more than a lukewarm reprimand.

Violence. Is. Not. Okay.

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