What I didn’t expect were the tears.

Almost from the beginning of Monday’s sentencing hearing in downtown Los Angeles, it was clear that U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer wanted to set an example for Mark Ridley-Thomas, the once high-flying black politician who was toppled by a public was brought. corruption scandal.

She warned him repeatedly and relentlessly.

There is simply no justification for monetizing your office, Fischer testified at one point in court, echoing prosecutors’ claim that he was the mastermind behind a shakedown.

At another point, after Ridley-Thomas again denied that he “crossed the line by engaging in illegal conduct,” she complained that the former LA City Council member and

the

The LA County Board of Supervisors had “not accepted responsibility and showed no remorse”.

“No one,” said Fischer, “is above the law.”

She then ordered Ridley-Thomas to serve three years in prison, pay a $30,000 fine, and subject herself to three years of supervised release, arguing that a substantial sentence was needed to show that government corruption has serious consequences.

This was about the time when about a dozen people in the courtroom, packed with supporters of the politician, began to cry. I’m also talking about the box of Kleenex tears.

They cried for a friend. They cried for a colleague. They wept for his family, for him, and for their community in South Los Angeles. Of the many people I spoke to after the sentencing hearing, the word I heard used the most was “sad.”

It’s a sad day for everyone, summarized lawyer Galia Amram.

How did we get to a point in Los Angeles where the conviction of an elected official, convicted of seven felonies for participating in a quid pro quo?

having a USC dean is a cause for tears among lawyers and current and former government officials?

One reason is that we’re talking about Ridley-Thomas, a California political giant who spent decades in elected office advocating for neglected communities of color and effectively providing them with resources from funding to health care.

take care of the infrastructure.

This is especially true for Black Angelenos. As I’ve written in the past, the absence of someone so powerful he’s been called a one-man institution in black politics will be felt in South LA.

But that’s not the only reason.

I suspect that the sheer amount of support we’ve seen for Ridley-Thomas over the course of a trial, an appeals process and now a sentencing hearing is also a reflection of the steady erosion of confidence in the criminal justice system. breaking the broad authority the courts once held, at least in terms of shaping public opinion along partisan lines and in separate social media bubbles.

This follows a long-documented trend in many institutions in America, including the criminal justice system. Gallup, for example, has been measuring trust in such institutions annually since 1973 and reported another decline in its most recent survey.

We have seen several extreme examples of this lately, especially when it comes to the courts.

There is a former president

Donald

Trump and his various charges, which his supporters baselessly claim he is the victim of

a witch h

below

There’s also rapper Torey Lanez, who was convicted and recently sentenced to prison for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, though for some reason his many fans continue to insist he’s innocent.

Ridley-Thomas is obviously none of these men and the case against him

with his charges of bribery, conspiracy, honest services fraud, and honest services mail fraud

was very different. But his supporters are just as loyal; their devotion stems from decades of friendships, an appreciation for his many good deeds, and a deep understanding of the often biased way the criminal justice system operates.

for against

Black people.

And so, from the time Ridley-Thomas was indicted in the complex corruption scandal two years ago to his sentencing this week, rallies, informal gatherings and vigils have been held in his name.

At 1:00 p.m. Sunday night, Bishop Byron L. Smith Sr. offered a prayer as several dozen people, many of whom were elderly and arrived by chartered bus, gathered on the recently completed Mark Ridley-Thomas Bridge, which spans La Cienega Boulevard and protrudes. from the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.

“The light we radiate,” he said as the sun went down, “is the light that overshadows the darkness of this process.”

Like Smith Sr., who also attended Monday’s sentencing hearing, many Ridley-Thomas supporters have been following the case closely, regularly posting about the ins and outs of the courtroom events on social media.

In those reports, theories abounded, some based more on reality than others, about whether the FBI had been completely honest during the period

the

in the trial, whether there were any errors in the way the jury reached its verdict and, most importantly, whether racism was a motive for Ridley-Thomas being charged in the first place.

With each month, skepticism seemed to harden about the veracity of the Ridley-Thomas charges eventually found guilty and the fairness of the legal process. By the time he was sentenced, many told me that they had come to the conclusion that he should never have been charged at all.

It wasn’t even a matter of guilt or innocence.

“When he got there and spoke, he said maybe it was sick

–

advised, but it wasn’t illegal? That’s what I’ve been saying all along,” longtime friend Gwen Williams said, while another longtime friend, Venetian activist Naomi Nightingale, nodded in agreement. “I think he made a mistake. We all make mistakes. But will we end up in prison?”

Caroline Webb De Macias, who once served as Ridley

Thomas’

Chief of Staff, was as appalled as disgusted.

right

Fischer alluded to this Monday when she spoke of a “section of the population that refuses to accept a guilty verdict.” Based on some of the conversations I’ve had in South LA, this is a part that’s probably much bigger than she realizes.

still, but it’s impossible to know for sure.

Meanwhile, more than 130 people, including several current and former elected officials, submitted letters of support for Ridley-Thomas ahead of his sentencing.

Among them was Sheila Kuehl, who retired from the

district

Supervisory Board

last year

. She praised her former colleague as a good and honorable man. Jackie Goldberg, president of the Los Angeles Unified School District board, called Ridley-Thomas

What

a warrior for social justice.

Their words are reminiscent of the many elected officials and civic leaders who expressed their support after Ridley-Thomas was convicted in March. So is State Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and an old friend

LA

Mayor Karen Bass.

Pastor William D. Smart Jr., president and general manager of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, lamented that it was not meant to happen. Everyone just thought he’d be acquitted because he’s a hero.

Federal prosecutors have never had all of public opinion on their side of Ridley-Thomas as they did following the guilty pleas of former city councilors Jose Huizar and Mitchell Englander, as well as former Justice Department chief David Wright . water and electricity

On Monday, Fischer stressed that the entire community has fallen victim to the crimes committed by the defendants. That, the judge continued, is why she had to impose a heavy sentence as a supposed deterrent to other politicians considering corruption.

But what happens when the guilty verdict underlying that sentence is not taken seriously? When it is taken apart by public opinion and rejected by an untold number of people? What kind of ‘deterrent’ is that?

Amram, Ridley-Thomas’ attorney, said her client plans to appeal. In the meantime, the longtime politician is expected to report to prison in mid-November, not long after

69th

birthday.

While we respect the jury’s decision at trial and the court’s decision today,” Amram told reporters, “there are important legal issues that need to be addressed on appeal.

On Monday, Ridley-Thomas told Fischer that while he was sorry for his actions, he had not broken the law.

This case lies somewhere between clearly legal behavior on the one hand and clearly illegal behavior on the other, he said. … I recognize with clarity where I belonged, at the end of the spectrum, where there would be little or no question of even the appearance of illegality.

Chances are that Ridley-Thomas will go to jail and continue to believe that he has committed no crimes. And many of his supporters will continue to believe the same.

No wonder there were tears.