The Feminine Exception: Why Female Criminality Is Softened by Society

-

 


By Chaddrick Thomas

Criminal Justice Reform Advocate


Let’s get uncomfortable.


When a man commits a violent crime, the outrage is immediate, visceral, and unforgiving. He’s labeled a monster, a predator, an irredeemable threat to society. But when a woman commits the same act, society hesitates. Suddenly, we ask why. We look for trauma. We assume she was pressured. We soften.


This is what sociologists call the “chivalry hypothesis”—the idea that women are treated more leniently by the criminal justice system not because of fairness, but because of deeply rooted gender stereotypes. Women are seen as emotional, fragile, passive, and—most importantly—less responsible for their actions.


The truth? That’s not justice. That’s gendered mythology dressed in legal robes.


I’m writing this not to demonize women or diminish the real issues they face. I’m writing this to highlight a dangerous inconsistency: if we can find grace, empathy, and second chances for women—why can’t we do the same for men?


Different Crimes, Different Narratives


Let’s take domestic violence as a case study. A man beating a woman on camera causes instant uproar—and rightfully so. It should. But flip the roles, and a disturbing pattern emerges: laughter. Viral clips of women hitting men are met with jokes, applause, and memes. We say, “He must’ve done something.” We ask what he said to “deserve it.”


That’s not equality. That’s gendered absolution.


We don’t see women as capable of cruelty. Instead, we blame the man—even when he’s the one bleeding.


Who’s Really Behind the Crime?


When a woman is arrested for robbery, fraud, or even murder, the next question is always the same:


“What man manipulated her into doing it?”


The idea that a woman could act independently—even criminally—is rejected on instinct. This reflex reveals how society infantilizes women while demonizing men. We assume women are merely caught in a man’s web. We assume men are the web.


That assumption doesn’t just affect the public. It affects judges, juries, parole boards, and policy.


Inside the System: Gendered Discipline




Even inside prison, the gap is glaring. Let me give you a concrete example from the Colorado Department of Corrections, where I’m currently incarcerated.


According to the CDOC Code of Penal Discipline:

  • A male inmate can lose his phone privileges for six months.

  • A female inmate? No more than 48 hours.

  • Women in segregation often keep their personal property.

  • Men? Stripped of everything, sometimes for 30 days or more.


These policies aren’t just bureaucratic. They reflect how the system fears men and forgives women. And that disparity reinforces the exact social bias we see in courtrooms and communities every day.


What This Says About Us


I’m not asking for women to be treated more harshly. I’m asking why men are treated as if we are inherently more dangerous, less human, less worthy of compassion.


If society can recognize context, trauma, and redemption in a woman’s case—then it has the capacity to do the same for everyone. It just chooses not to.


And that’s the real indictment.


A Broader Truth About “Justified” Violence


This isn’t just about gender. Look at how we excuse violence when it comes from uniforms or corporate boardrooms:

  • A police officer shoots an unarmed man and it’s called “a split-second decision.”

  • A military drone strike kills civilians and it’s called “collateral damage.”

  • A company knowingly sells a dangerous product, and the deaths that follow? “Unfortunate side effects.”


But if a Black man pulls the trigger in a neighborhood that’s been stripped of opportunity, he’s a cold-blooded killer—not a symptom of structural violence.


So let’s stop pretending this is about safety or justice.

It’s about who society feels deserves understanding.


Toward a Justice System Without Gendered Bias


This blog is just the beginning. I’m building toward a larger body of work—a book that will challenge the narratives that uphold unequal justice. My mission is simple:

  • To prove that our legal system is not only flawed—but willfully biased.

  • To expose how society extends humanity selectively.

  • And to advocate for a system that gives every person the chance to be seen as a whole human being—not just a stereotype.


Because if women can be seen as complex, hurt, or misled—then so can men.

Justice doesn’t have a gender.

But until we act like it, I’ll keep writing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Lawyer Fell Asleep During Trial—And the Justice System Let It Happen

-
Image
  By Chaddrick Thomas In the fall of 2003, I sat in a federal courtroom in Tampa, Florida, on trial for bank robbery. It was United States v. Chaddrick Thomas, Bobby Lamar Albritton, and James Range. Three of us on trial. Four former co-defendants turned government witnesses: Scotty Carpenter, David Vicker, Ava Jackson, and Nene Burns. The odds were already stacked. But nothing—nothing—could have prepared me for what happened next. My court-appointed attorney, Thomas Ostrander, fell asleep during trial. Repeatedly. Not Just a Quick Nap—He Was Snoring He didn’t doze off for a second. He wasn’t just tired. He slept. Hard. He snored in open court. He missed witness testimony. He missed cross-examinations. He missed pieces of my life being carved away one statement at a time. At one point, I nudged him awake and he jumped up shouting, “No questions for the witness, Your Honor!” But there was no one on the stand. The U.S. Marshal, Lisa Alphonso, saw it. The Court Security Officer saw it...
Read more

The Church That Never Let Go:

-
Image
  A Love Letter to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church By Chaddrick Thomas There’s a scripture in Proverbs that says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). After more than two decades in prison, I can tell you with every fiber of my being that these words are not just poetry—they’re a living truth. For me, that truth has a name. It’s not just an idea or a concept. It’s a place. A people. A home. That truth is Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Plant City, Florida. I grew up in the pews of that little church on Horton Road. I sang in the choir, my voice cracking as a young boy trying to keep up with the seasoned saints. I didn’t know then what that church would come to mean to me. Back then, church was just Sunday tradition. It was fried chicken after service, choir rehearsal during the week, and Vacation Bible School in the summer. But now, as I sit in a cell surrounded by concrete and steel, I realize something I didn’t see befor...
Read more

“Survival for Sale: How Colorado’s Prison System Turned Human Needs into Behavioral Currency”

-
Image
  By Chaddrick Thomas When you think of prison incentives, you might imagine rewards: extra phone time, a bonus commissary item, maybe early access to rec. But in Colorado, incentives don’t enhance your life. They determine whether or not you survive it. This isn’t a system built on growth. It’s built on control. And the DOC’s weapon of choice? Necessity. The Bait-and-Starve Blueprint Let’s be clear: nothing about this is accidental. Years ago, incarcerated people across Colorado’s prisons had access to basic, humane standards of living: Decent food with some variety and nutrition Mattresses that didn’t destroy your spine Educational programs that were hard-earned but fairly accessible A basic expectation of medical care—even if flawed Then came the Incentive Pod system. Quietly, strategically, and systematically, the Department began to strip these essentials from general population units. Food quality declined. Mattresses were replaced with glorified g...
Read more