R Kelly was sentenced to thirty years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering on Wednesday.
In response to this, many online are comparing this with the sentence Ghislaine Maxwell was given for her part in recruiting and trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein.
People on Twitter said:
“Can someone please explain to me how R Kelly received a prison sentence 10 years longer than Ghislaine Maxwell?”
“R Kelly (a black man) was sentenced 30 years in prison.”
“Ghislaine Maxwell (a white woman) was sentenced 20 years.”
Former assistant United States attorney Neama Rahmani explained that the sentencing was due to a number of different contributing factors. He said:
“Many people believe that R Kelly received a longer sentence because he is a black man and Maxwell is white woman,”
“That’s an oversimplification that misses key differences between the cases.”
“Ann Donnelly was a prosecutor for years before she was appointed to the bench,”
“She’s known as a tougher sentencer than Maxwell’s judge, Alison Nathan, who is a former law professor.”
See below:
R. Kelly’s judge, Ann Donnelly, was a prosecutor for years before she was appointed to the bench. She’s known as a tougher sentencer than Maxwell’s judge, Alison Nathan, who is a former law professor.
— Neama Rahmani (@NeamaRahmani) June 30, 2022
Rahmani also said that R Kelly’s pattern of “activity” was also worse.
