Watson Coleman: “I will continue the Pickering story because I think it is important. My colleague, Senator Graham, has done a tremendous…”

“I will continue the Pickering story because I think it is important. My colleague, Senator Graham, has done a tremendous job of laying it out. I don't know Judge Pickering's son as well as Senator Graham does, but I have met him. I have to go beyond that. Senator Graham mentioned when he was in law school that he wrote an article on interracial marriage. That was in 1959. He was assigned to write an article. It was required, not voluntary. It was an academic exercise. The article evaluated various State laws on interracial marriage. He took no position on the moral nature of these laws nor did he advocate or condone the ban on interracial marriage. He was given an assignment and required to do it. In the case of the cross burning--and I am a former prosecutor and I have seen this happen--he simply sought precaution in sentencing. There was a bad investigation done by the Clinton Justice Department. They recommended a plea bargain to the guy in the cross burning who was the ring leader. So he gets off. There is a trial then for the other guy. Judge Pickering is there and he sees it is simply not proportioned. He told the guy he tried, who was not the ring leader--but the other got was off the hook. He said what he had done was heinous and dastardly and would not be tolerated and someone would have to spend time in the penitentiary for his act and ruled according to the sentencing guidelines.”