[Texas_Jarhead]

Ok so I'm still reading this but things like this are puzzling, "Additionally, Castañeda said that she was discouraged from buying crack from the same person twice, since the goal was to try and get as many different "drug dealers" as possible."

If a person sells drugs aren't they by definition a "drug dealer"? Why the scare quotes?

[JTN]

If a person sells drugs aren't they by definition a "drug dealer"? Why the scare quotes?

Good question. I suppose because the assertion here is that some of the accused are probably not guilty.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

If a person sells drugs aren't they by definition a "drug dealer"? Why the scare quotes?

If a person buys a small stash for personal use but later agrees to sell a rock or a joint to someone else, that doesn't make them a dealer as the term is usually known.

This is about much more than drugs. It is probably not even about drugs at all but more about redneck power and intimidation. The jury is most likely compliant out of fear of the DA and his friend the judge. Justice is just an abstract term in those situations.

There have been several cases in the news in the last 20 years about east Texas "justice" and not all of it deals with race or drugs. It is about local power and asserting it so that it is never challenged. They say that all politics are local but that doesn't mean that local politics are fair. Louisiana and east Texas are similar.