The drama with the Blue Devils continues and while the District Attorney feels strongly that the evidence indicates a sexual assault occured, apparently pursuing this matter as a hate crime "would not help me in any fashion." I'm confused as to what the crime has to do with him.
Nifong said he would not pursue the incident as a hate crime, despite reports by neighbors that they heard numerous racial epithets. He said the crimes already carry severe enough penalties that the added sentence associated with the hate crime is inconsequential.I'm no legal scholar so I'm trying not to be too hard on the DA or play backseat lawyer, but if this isn't hateful behavior, what is?
"Basically it would just be one more thing to prove, and it would not help me in any fashion," Nifong explained. "But I do intend to present evidence of those statements because they had to do with the state of mind of the people who were involved."
1 comments:
interesting. we just discussed hate crimes and the definition of such in my criminal justice class last night. the same thing was said - crimes carry severe sentences already and every crime is a hate crime.
i'm not sure i agree. but like you i'm not law professional, i'm just taking one class. however, i do think that some crimes fit the bill. when the crime was committed with extreme hatred for the person's race, religious views, or sexual orientation - i think it's a hate crime. see hate crime: the story of a dragging in jasper, texas on my blog for an illustration.
p.s. love the new template!
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