We've had several issues over the years of what appeared to be racial discrimination against black voters and the Justice Department has yet to come in and do a thorough investigation. And for them to take on this case is highly unusual and very suspect.

The prisons in the United States had long been an extreme reflection of the American system itself: the stark life differences between rich and poor, the racism, the use of victims against one another, the lack of resources of the underclass to speak out, the endless "reforms" that changed little. Dostoevski once said: "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons."

It had long been true, and prisoners knew this better than anyone, that the poorer you were the more likely you were to end up in jail. This was not just because the poor committed more crimes. In fact, they did. The rich did not have to commit crimes to get what they wanted; the laws were on their side. But when the rich did commit crimes, they often were not prosecuted, and if they were they could get out on bail, hire clever lawyers, get better treatment from judges. Somehow, the jails ended up full of poor black people.

Prejudice, not being founded on reason, cannot be removed by argument

Let there be no mistake: The Department of Justice will not tolerate acts of violence or discrimination against people in this country based on their national origin, religion or race,

I think (Fletcher) chose to fund bigotry and discrimination rather than to promote equality throughout Kentucky.

The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public