Fresh from our "Blame a black or brown man" file, a meteorologist on ABC's local New York station has been suspended after police say she made up claims that she was assaulted by a Hispanic man in Central Park. Heidi Jones reported to police Nov. 24 that a man had tried to rape her as she ran in Central Park, and the same man later tried to assault her outside her apartment. Police say the 37-year-old later admitted that she fabricated the story. She was given a desk-appearance ticket for misdemeanor charges of filing a false report. Jones has been suspended from her job and will probably not serve any jail time.
Therein lies the problem. Falsely accusing someone of a crime, especially one as heinous as rape, should result in jail time. Falsely accusing people of color to increase the likelihood of being believed should result in a longer incarceration period. It's simply outrageous, unacceptable and weak-minded.
Read more at Newsday.