Posted by baetam, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Jul 19, 2012 at 10:55 am

no jail for a thief? long live the us of a!

Posted by Wilson, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 19, 2012 at 11:42 am

Hanretty is a highly educated man, who was awarded high-paying jobs in the public education hierarchy. It wouldn't look good if he actually served time in jail, as this might cause people to wonder about the highly-paid public education types in their own school districts. Best to sweep this under the rug, as quickly as possible.

It's a shame that this sort of situation does not immediately trigger a review of the whole district--including the Board of Education. These people on the Board should not get out of this without having their role examined by impartial investigators--say from the Office of the State Auditor, or the State Dept. of Justice.

If he doesn't serve any time, then it will once again reinforce the fact that there are two sets of laws in this country--one for the well-to-do, and the other for the rest of us.

Posted by white privilege, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Jul 19, 2012 at 9:57 pm

Ever wonder non-white people are disproportionately represented among the prison population? Whites can more easily get out on bail and then plea bargain to a non-prison sentence.

Posted by Book-em-Danno!, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2012 at 9:17 am

> Ever wonder non-white people are disproportionately represented

> among the prison population?

Check the stats--non-whites commit more violent crimes than whites do, based on their census representation.

Posted by Tired of the BS, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Jul 20, 2012 at 11:36 pm

White priviledge,

Whether a person qualifies for bail and how much it is set at is determined by the offense, criminal history, whether the person has a job or a physical address, and whether the person has failed to show up for court before in the past. Race is not part of the equation.