Scott Bremner

There has been a lot of sympathy expressed for Teri Rhodes, the former Mercyhurst College student-athlete who practiced on her volleyball team just one day before giving birth in her room.

Police say she put the baby in a bag and took a shower.

The baby died, and after five long weeks of investigation, District Attorney Brad Foulk decided to charge her with homicide.

The press conference was timed to coincide with Rhodes’ initial appearance in court, an age old police and prosecutor trick to divert media attention away from a walking suspect.

Then Judge John Bozza took the extraordinary step of granting bond in a homicide case, arguing that Rhodes, in the care of her Michigan parents, would not be a risk to others or a risk of flight.

That night she became the first person in the modern history of Erie County to be charged with murder in the afternoon and who slept in her own bed that night.

The conditions of the bond require Rhodes to either finish classes or get a job, and as she labors under that burden Letters to the Editor implore the cold judicial machine to give this poor young woman a chance to recover and once again become a productive member of society.

Okay, now let’s look at another example.

Out of the dozens to choose from, let’s take a look at, oh, how about Chytoria Graham, a young mother of five.

Graham came home after a night of drinking only to get into a fight with her boyfriend. The argument became more heated, and in a thoughtless, drunken moment, Graham picked up her one month old son and swung him at the boy’s father, injuring both.

The 27-year old Graham was arrested and bond was set at 75-hundred dollars, which might as well have been a million dollars given Graham’s economic situation.

Her case is set for sometime this fall based on a number of pre-trial issues.

Insiders are betting even money that Graham will wind up with more jail time than Rhodes, even though Graham’s baby has recovered and is living with foster parents.

Rhodes is white and Graham is black.

Rhodes comes from a suburban Michigan family. Graham does not.

But to just write this off as another example of white and well-to-do getting over on poor and black doesn't grasp the situation fully.

In a touch of irony, part of the reason why it took five weeks to press charges is that investigators moved methodically and asked each other repeatedly if Rhodes was getting special treatment.

“We’re really trying to make sure this case is treated like any other,” one told me.

But to see the scared young woman with the nice family and the spotless record, for a process still made up largely of white males, was to see the family next door, the child or grandchild that shows up for Christmas dinner.

To see Teri Rhodes, what the pieces who make up the machine really saw was themselves, and it’s easier to stay detached when the players are of another place and lineage.

These two cases, proceeding side-by-side, may provide a showcase example of how hard it is for a system to be completely fair when human beings are running it, even those who spent weeks trying to do the right thing.

HEY! Do you think Teri Rhodes is being treated better or worse than deserved? Post a comment and start a conversation!