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2 Ala. C.R. & C.L. L. Rev. 1 (2011)
The Wretched of the Earth

handle is hein.journals/alabcrcl2 and id is 13 raw text is: ALABAMA CIVIL RIGHTS & CIVIL LIBERTIES LAW REVIEW Volume 2 2011 THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH Richard Delgado* I. INTRODUCTION: RASHON AND MATTHEW .................................... 1 II. ROTTEN SOCIAL BACKGROUND AND THE LAW ............................. 3 III. WHAT DOES FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THE LEGAL RELEVANCE OF ROTTEN SOCIAL BACKGROUND SAY ABOUT OUR SOCIETY? ............ 6 A. The Name of the Defense .................................................. 7 B. Practical Consequences ................................................ 8 C. Loss of Role M odels ........................................................ 9 D. Institutional and Social Costs ........................................... 10 1. Sweeping Under the Rug .......................................... 10 2. Legitimacy Costs ................................................... 11 E. Governing Through Crime .............................................. 12 IV. SYSTEMIC COSTS OF REFUSING TO RECOGNIZE A DEFENSE OF SEVERE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPRIVATION .......................................... 14 V . JUSTIFICATION ................................................................. 18 I. INTRODUCTION: RASHON AND MATTHEW Imagine two young men born on opposite sides of town on the same day. One, Rashon, grows up in a run-down apartment in a housing project, the son of a black single mother who was sixteen years old at the time of his birth. The apartment in which he spent his childhood years was drafty, the plumbing leaked, and the smeared windows looked out on a common yard littered with trash, discarded bicycles, and other urban detritus. The peeling wallpaper exposed walls painted many years ago with faded lead-based paint which the infant had ingested. Rats scurried everywhere, especially after dark. On a given day, you might see furtive * University Professor of Law, Seattle University. J.D., U.C.-Berkeley (Boalt Hall), 1974.

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