Record of the Press · 2012–Present
Section II · SubversionExhibit S-001
Double Standard

Suspended sentences for a street assault vs. jail for racist tweets

06 DEC 2011 · Daily Mail, NPR, Full Fact
Side-by-side captures of the pieces in this exhibit
EXHIBIT — Page captures of the pieces below, shown side by side.

■ The pieces

■ What they show

In December 2011 the Daily Mail reported that four women who kicked Rhea Page in the head during a racially abusive street attack in Leicester received suspended sentences. In March 2012 student Liam Stacey was jailed for 56 days for racist tweets about footballer Fabrice Muamba. Placed side by side, the cases raise questions about how UK courts weigh online speech against physical violence.

■ The other side

Full Fact found that the suspended sentences were most likely linked to the judge's acceptance that the women may have faced unreasonable force from the victim's boyfriend, not to the defence's point that they were 'not used to alcohol'.

Who it helped: DemocratsShows which racism gets punished, a framing that favors the left's narrative.

■ Why it's here

This exhibit is filed under Subversion, not graded as a lie. What subversion means →