[Redbob]

Swan and his buddies did the cross-burning; no question.

But his "buddies", including the ring-leader whose idea this was in the first place, did a plea-bargain and got ZERO time for the crime.
Swan pled "not guilty," was convicted, and got 6 - 7 years.

Pickering stepped in and said there was something unfair about this. Most rational people would agree, and Cynthia Tucker, unsurprisingly, doesn't.

[an amused spectator]

Pickering stepped in and said there was something unfair about this. Most rational people would agree, and Cynthia Tucker, unsurprisingly, doesn't.

Apparently, she needed to embellish the facts in order to make a better case for her disagreement. ;-)

[Catspaw]

But his "buddies", including the ring-leader whose idea this was in the first place, did a plea-bargain and got ZERO time for the crime. Swan pled "not guilty," was convicted, and got 6 - 7 years.

His buddies did a plea bargain (no doubt having the original charges lowered), but Swan went to trial, was convicted & was sentenced to 6 to 7? No surprise about the disparity in sentencing.