Sarah Furay, 19, rose to notoriety for her sweetly smiling mugshot after being arrested for having cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy tablets, methamphetamine and two digital scales in her Texas apartment.
Bill Furay, her father, is a veteran special agent with Houston’s Drug Enforcement Agency. So far, he has not commented on the charges pending against his daughter.
The younger Furay is facing three felony counts of manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance, and one count of drug possession, and is currently free on bail after posting $39,000 bail.
Her story produced massive backlash against several news websites after Furay was described as having a "photogenic smile" and the "happiest mugshot in America.” Many noted that a black man facing similar charges would be scorned or labeled a thug while she was seemingly being celebrated for her very serious crimes.
The outlet to receive the most backlash perhaps, was Death and Taxes, who issued a formal apology after labeling her an “adorable drug kingpin.”
“Furay is smiling, I feel safe to presume, because the criminal justice system works to her favor. Even perhaps unconsciously she knows it. Black males are sentenced inordinate amounts of time in prison for drugs never even found on their person; meanwhile, Furay’s grin almost deliberately relates her knowledge that her consequences won’t meet the same extreme,” the website wrote.
