Williams: Brown should be sentenced to appropriate community service

Becky Lee, chief program officer at the YWCA of Richmond, recalled her reaction upon learning that entertainer Chris Brown's punishment for assaulting his girlfriend would be removing trash and graffiti in Richmond.

"I was undone," she said. "The truth is, I sort of rolled my eyes. It just was hard to see the relevance. There wasn't any."

You don't have to counsel, shelter and otherwise support victims of domestic violence to agree that Brown's punishment doesn't fit the crime.

A Los Angeles judge imposed six months of labor-intensive community service for Brown, 20, following his guilty plea in the February assault of R&B singer Rihanna, 21.

In a letter to Judge Patricia Schnegg the day before Brown's Aug. 25 sentence, Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood confirmed his department's willingness to supervise Brown, a Tappahannock native who has a home in Montpelier.

Brown already might be carrying out such tasks as graffiti removal, trash pickup, grounds maintenance and car washing. Richmond police, who've received dozens of media inquiries, aren't saying -- for "tactical" reasons -- whether he has started the work, spokesman Gene Lepley said yesterday.

It's unclear why Brown is doing community service 2,600 miles from where his crime occurred. And he wasn't arrested for tossing a fast-food bag out of his car or tagging a building with graffiti.

He beat a woman.

For this offense, he was spared a jail sentence. The least the criminal justice system could do is come up with an appropriate way for Brown to repent and repair.

Brown could give speeches and do public service announcements on domestic violence, or conduct similar outreach efforts in the schools, where he retains a fan base. He could launch a concert tour with proceeds going to domestic-violence programs.

Having Brown poking at litter with a stick does nothing for battered women.

"In some ways, his doing community service reflects sort of a historical view of crime and punishment," Lee said, likening it to chain gangs and other hard labor.

Lee -- carefully noting that she was not comparing Brown's offense to Michael Vick's dogfighting -- cited Vick's high-profile outreach efforts since his release from federal prison. On Tuesday, Vick spoke to Philadelphia high schoolers about making good choices, holding up his own poor choices as a cautionary tale.

"I see Chris Brown picking up trash and I see Michael Vick saying, 'I really blew it and I'm trying to do better,'" said Lee, who works with abused women at the YWCA. Community service offers little opportunity for Brown to take ownership of his crime and express remorse, she said.

"I don't see him taking any personal opportunity to demonstrate the importance of having healthy relationships."

During an interview last week with CNN's Larry King, Brown was careful not to criticize his sentence. "But I feel like with what I'm capable of doing as far as influencing people, influencing kids, the youth, I can do a lot more to help the community other than picking up trash. . . . I'm not saying picking up trash is something wrong."

I am.

Brown can do much more to atone for his crime and raise awareness and support in the fight against domestic violence.

In this case, picking up trash is a waste.

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or .

Follow Michael Paul on Twitter @RTDMPW.