Published on Monday, April 2, 2007

By BET.com News Staff & Wire Services

Posted April 2, 2007 - After serving a year of a seven-year jail sentence for shoving a school hall monitor, 15-year-old Shaquanda Cotton is a free girl.

"I feel like I have a second chance," Shaquanda told reporters just moments after stopping off at McDonald's with her mom for a burger. "I'm going to be a better person now. I'm a good person, but I want to be a better person."'

Cotton, who had been in the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood, left the facility Saturday with a "calvary," said state representative Harold Dutton (D).

Shaquanda's case drew nationwide attention and prompted courthouse protests in her hometown of Paris, Texas, as some accused local officials of racism for dealing out a potentially long sentence to a Black girl with no arrest record.

Her sentence was also extended after corrections officers found she had an extra pair of socks and a cup – items that are considered contraband.

Shaquanda's release was approved by Jay Kimbrough, the conservator appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Texas Youth Commission, the embattled juvenile justice agency, which has been racked by allegations of sexual abuse. Kimbrough has said he will assemble a panel to review records of all youth inmates to make sure their sentences hadn't been extended unfairly.

Activists say the fact that the same judge sentenced a 14-year-old White girl to probation for burning down her own house three months before Shaquanda's case signaled evidence of racial bias. When the White teenager violated her probation, the judge declined to send her to prison. It was only when she violated her probation a second time that the judge ordered her locked up.

Paris school officials, the district attorney and the judge in Shaquanda's case insist that race did not play a role in her sentencing, but it wasn't enough to convince the U.S. Department of Education, which is examining allegations that the school district disciplines Black students more harshly than Whites.

As for Shaquanda's return to her hometown, her mother, Creola, told reporters that she has some concerns.

"I don't want to place my daughter in danger," Creola Cotton said. "I hope we can stay in Paris because this is where my family is. I would hate to have to pick up and leave."

Shaquanda was one of about 4,700 offenders ages 10 to 21 locked up in TYC facilities who are considered the most dangerous, incorrigible or chronic.

Do you think Shaquanda and her mother should leave town? Click "Discuss Now" to post your comment and send your shoutouts to Shaquanda.

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