On Aug. 21, actress Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli, fashion designer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving their college admissions scandal. The couple spent nearly 500,000 dollars to get their daughter into the University of Southern California by colluding with the university’s rowing coach and paying him off to earn their daughters two of the teams’ admission spots. 

In this case, the couple maintained their innocence for over a year but finally pleaded guilty and received charges for their crimes. Loughlin has been sentenced to two months in prison, a 150,000 dollar fine, completion of 100 hours of community service and upon release from her prison sentence will be placed under a two year supervised release. 

Giannulli, who was found guilty of orchestrating most of the deal found through evidence of tracked emails, recorded phone calls and messages, was sentenced to five months in prison. He was also given a 250,000 dollar fine, ordered to complete 250 community service hours, and will also be under a two year supervised release.

The pandemic had fared the couple well when it came to their prison sentence. According to the prison population initiative, due to the pandemic, “California jail populations have dropped. In Los Angeles County and Sacramento County, jail populations have decreased by over 30%. Orange County’s jail population has dropped by almost 45%, while other counties — including San Diego, San Mateo, and Stanislaus — have released hundreds of people held pretrial.” The pair would likely have received more prison time if measures were not being taken to lessen prison capacity.

Many people have begun to criticize the sentencing the couple received, arguing that this is less on sentencing than the couple deserved for the severity of their crimes. One twitter user commented, bluntly, “Lori Loughlin being sentenced to two months in jail is a slap in the face to the Black moms getting years for sending their kids to better public schools” tweeted Ms. Saint-Pierre M.S.Ed. MPA. 

Still, we see a disparity in how this celebrity couple fared better due to their celebrity status. Crystal Mason has become a popular name among the conversation when comparing the outcome of this trial and critiquing the criminal justice system as a whole. Mason is a black woman and a mother of three sentenced to five years in prison for voting in Texas because she did not realize her past felony conviction made it illegal for her to vote in the state. Unfortunately, Mason’s case is not the only recent instance of racial injustice we have seen. Kelley Williams-Bolar was initially sentenced to five years in prison for using her father’s address to enroll her child in a better public school. The disparity in these cases versus Laughlin and Giannulli shows an apparent racial bias.

We must look at the system and see the ways race and class affect the sentencing for certain crimes. If the pandemic was enough reason to lower the sentencing down to a couple of months for high-stakes conspiracy crimes, then it should be applied to Kelley Williams-Bolar, who did not understand that her status as a voter was no longer eligible. However, she still received five years in prison, nearly 60 times longer than Loughlin’s sentence.