Comments on: Is Stronger Hate Crimes Legislation Effective?

By: Dresden

Dresden — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:22:53 +0000

This law got a lot of attention when “Fat Nick” got sent up the river for a ridiculous 15 years, for screaming the N-word and swinging a bat at a guy’s head.

Well, that’s fine, but I know a guy in Maine who got 12 years for shooting his wife in the head with an SKS. Crime of passion?

I always thought Soul Asylum summed it up quite well:

Trying to do the right thing play it straight
the right thing changes from state to state

By: Dresden

Dresden — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:39:33 +0000

I believe the legislation on “Hate Crimes” is a “slippery slope” and is becoming more and more like a very scary Orwellian term called “Thought Crime”.

Sure, if someone is screaming epithets and beating someone with a bat, that’s one thing… but what happens when it’s vague and the DA pushes for the designation of “hate crime”??????

Then someone on trial could get fucked for a NON-HATE crime. I am of the opinion that it is better 9 criminals go free that 1 innocent join them. If 10 are imprison, and one is innocent – shame on society.

By: mopar

mopar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:53:35 +0000

Dunno about the legal issues, but the murderers were yelling anti-gay and anti-immigrant slurs. They were probably picking on who they perceived to be weak and who they perceived they hated.

They have picked out the brothers for being small and latino and having their arms around each other. Even for being drunk.

By: chillinoncentral

chillinoncentral — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:38:17 +0000

I think that local criminal laws already address “hate crimes” and there is nothing that shows a need for any additional legislation to enforce the laws against violent crime. The problem really is that criminals are sometimes not caught and the Attorney General will not provide certain investigative assistance unless the murder of an individual was motivated by a specific “hate.” The proposed legislation requires a prejudice before the crime is considered a felony and before they invest additional resources towards catching the criminals. That’s the part that I think is bull. The criminals involved in the Sucuzhanay murder (regardless of whether the assault was sexual or a racial) have not been caught… but every effort should be afforded towards arresting them and, when they are caught, they should face felonious murder charges that are related to a violent death and thus face life sentences. Murder is murder… and whether a victim is hispanic, gay, catholic, or female should not matter in the efforts made to catch them or for how punishing the law should be towards them… as naïve as this may seem to many, the deceased victim deserves equal justice because we are all equal; justice should always be (blindly) equal to all of us, and should not be dependant on the victim’s race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, etc.