Jamin Dumas, Former Prison Guard gets Probation for Assault on White Prison, Judge Refuses Measure 11 Sentence

Jamin Dumas was spared a tough sentencing under Oregon law, known as Measure 11, and Circuit Judge Albin Norblad gave him a sentence of two years probation for assaulting an inmate on May, 2008. Dumas was convicted of second-degree assault in the case. Dumas, faced with criminal charges, waived his right to a jury trial. Judge Norblad found him guilty after a two-day trial in December. The reality is that this measure will keep more black males in prison. Don't get me wrong, if you are a repeat offender or a violent criminal, you belong behind bars, but it is obvious that Mr. Dumas doesn't fit that profile. This case is a throw-back to the Jim Crow days in America when blacks had no rights, no matter if they were innocent.

Dumas, a black corrections officer at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in south east Salem, entered the cell of a defiant inmate who repeatedly subjected him to racial slurs. He used physical force to subdue to subdue the inmate in a racially-charged fight, who suffered a broken collarbone. According to the Statesman Journal, Dumas was placed on leave during an investigation of the incident. He received a letter March 9, 2009, notifying him that he was being fired.

Norblad invoked rarely used judicial discretion in deviating from Measure 11, approved by voters in 1994 to toughen punishment for violent offenders. Senate Bill 1049, passed by the Legislature in 1997, allows judges to depart from the mandatory sentences prescribed by Measure 11 in certain cases of assault, kidnapping and robbery. Judges typically use such latitude only when offenders, such as Dumas, have histories clear of prior criminal conduct.

Norblad said at Tuesday's sentencing hearing that he remained convinced that Dumas assaulted the inmate. "You kind of broke and did the wrong thing," he told Dumas. However, the wrongdoing fell short of the punishment called for by Measure 11, Norblad said. "This case is not one that belongs in Measure 11," he said. "Measure 11 is not in proportion to what he did." Source: Statesman Journal

Measure 11 applies to all defendants over the age of 15, requiring juveniles over 15 charged with these crimes to be tried as adults. Measure 11 is another way for prosecutors to exploit and essentially take power away from elected judges. There are many people who believe that this law will be unfairly used to keep more young black males in prison.

Personally, I don't believe Mr. Dumas should have even been charged because of the nature of this incident. It was a racially-charged brawl that was instigated by a white inmate who had a big problem taking orders from a black man. The reality is that this incident smacks of Jim Crowism. Judging from the so-called victim's tirade during the incident, this was a throwback to a dark period in America's history. According to Salem-News, the inmate said, as Dumas reportedly tried to reason with him, "I hate all you f*cking niggers. I hate all you nigger bitches." Dumas says the man continued by saying, "If my granddaddy were around he would take a whip to all of you and beat the skin off your backs," adding that the man said, "I hate all niggers."

Dumas contends the he did nothing wrong and acted in the scope of his job as a corrections officer. According to the Statesman Journal, he maintains that he should not have been fired from his job or have been criminally charged. Dumas, a father of eight, was a 19-year veteran at the facility.