On January 20, the United States of America will for the first time have a president who is a convicted felon. However, Donald Trump's sentencing for fudging business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film star could also set a precedent. The judge in the case, whom Mr Trump had personally targeted, sentenced the president-elect to an unconditional discharge. The unusual and rare sentence in effect means that Mr Trump has to pay no penalty of any kind — no fine, no jail time, no community service — for the crime he has been convicted of. Mr Trump nevertheless railed against the legal proceedings, suggesting that they were unfair. However, in a country with the dubious distinction of the world’s largest prisoner population — with a disproportionate number of inmates being people of colour — his let off from any penalty despite a conviction poses questions about fairness to others who do not receive such reprieves as well as about the privilege of presidential immunity.
The judge, Justice Juan Merchan, described it as an extraordinary case given the circumstances surrounding Mr Trump whose sentencing took place just days before his swearing-in. The judge argued that imposing any penalty on Mr Trump would have impeded his ability to carry out his responsibilities as president, suggesting that Mr Merchan was left with little option but to issue an unconditional discharge conviction. Yet, Mr Trump’s clean slate despite a criminal conviction raises questions about whether such leniency is only reserved for the political and economic elite in a country with a notoriously unequal justice system. Black Americans constitute 13% of the national population but 37% of prison inmates. The incarceration rate for Native Americans is twice what it is overall. It is difficult to imagine many convicted felons who publicly criticise the judge hearing their case get away without any penalty. With the case now closed barring any appeals from Mr Trump’s team, the incoming president can focus on his priorities: evicting millions of undocumented people in the US and toughening law and order, among others. Lawbreakers, Mr Trump’s critics allege, will thus be punished by a lawbreaker-in-chief. His opponents can use his status as a convicted felon as a jibe against him but it would mean little. Mr Trump’s reprieve is perhaps an indictment of America as a whole. From January 20, the US will have a head of State who embodies the two-tiered justice system that rules the country.