An Inclusive Litany

1/30/97

KABC Channel 7 11 o'clock Eyewitness News, Los Angeles, January 30, 1997:
A Bakersfield, California, man is appealing a 26-year prison sentence for robbery, assault, and car-jacking on the basis of misunderstood testimony due to his use of Ebonics. When asked about his criminal record, Frederick Clayton had responded "I always be... a sneak thief type." to convey that he had never [up until then] been convicted of a violent crime. Clayton's attorney claims that if the judge had understood Ebonics, his client would be a free man.