Hate Crimes, and why they aren't justice.
Hate Crimes. Another post to raise eyebrows. I am going to be using, as an example, one of the most heinous crimes that was motivate by race in the last twenty years. It was a crime that ended up in a political ad. I am talking about the dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper, TX.
On June 7, 1998, James Byrd was dragged to his death after being beaten by three men. He was chained to a pickup and dragged for about 1 and 1/2 miles, before his head was severed. A horrible crime. Was it motivated by race? Two of the three were white supremacists, so I would guess that answers that question. But a hate crime? If justice is blind, then the motivation of an attack is really irrelevant, isn't it? So, what happened, and why does this matter today? For the record, Two of the three were sentenced to DEATH, the other, Life without possibility of parole. Can punishment be any more final than this? Well....
As it turns out, the Governor of Texas was running for President. He had opposed Hate Crime Legislation that was supposed to honor James Byrd. (remember, two death penalties, and life without parole.). So an ad was made for the Democrat nominee, Vice President Al Gore, Jr. It had James' daughter saying that when the Governor opposed the Legislation, it was like "my father was killed all over again". Really? I won't even mention that Al Gore was the originator of the very effective, and wrongly considered racist, Willie Horton ads. (originally run in the Democrat Primary against eventual nominee Michael Dukakis, Oh wait, I just did. Good. This actually is the perfect case to demonstrate the folly of so-called Hate crime laws.
Other than determining whether a murder is premeditated or not, the why of a crime IS irrelevant. Or, it should be. I think that we need some serious revision of our judicial process. Because the why shouldn't matter. A crime is committed, a suspect is caught, a trial occurs. Guilt, or innocence should not hinge on why. Truth in sentencing is paramount here, and right now, too much sentencing is dependent on wealth, prestige, and ability of the lawyer. I won't mention candidates in my post, other than to say that one IS standing for judicial reform.
Laws need to be reformed.
Leading the way should be drug laws. Either enforce them universally, or get rid of them.
Federal Laws should only apply to interstate activity. If a murder/kidnapping/etc is committed within a state, the feds should be hands off. Law enforcement is best when it is handled at the lowest level.
Obviously immigration reform. This is one of the VERY FEW constitutionally mandated dutiess of the federal government. If they can't do that, then there shouldn't be any federal law enforcement. Once done, deal with those here. SECURE the borders,
I could go on, but there is so much that needs to be reformed, it would take forever to list.
Our prisons need to be reformed so that the state can insure the protection of those it has incarcerated. They should be equal opportunity, and if someone thinks it is unfair that non violent white collar criminals shouldn't be in the same prison as murderers, than neither should non violent drug offenders.
We are going to have to fight for our freedoms, and any reforms. The governing class will not willingly surrender power. Even a libertarian president will struggle, and it doesn't matter whether it is a Republican or a Democrat Congress. The power brokers that reside in the shadows won't go quietly.
On June 7, 1998, James Byrd was dragged to his death after being beaten by three men. He was chained to a pickup and dragged for about 1 and 1/2 miles, before his head was severed. A horrible crime. Was it motivated by race? Two of the three were white supremacists, so I would guess that answers that question. But a hate crime? If justice is blind, then the motivation of an attack is really irrelevant, isn't it? So, what happened, and why does this matter today? For the record, Two of the three were sentenced to DEATH, the other, Life without possibility of parole. Can punishment be any more final than this? Well....
As it turns out, the Governor of Texas was running for President. He had opposed Hate Crime Legislation that was supposed to honor James Byrd. (remember, two death penalties, and life without parole.). So an ad was made for the Democrat nominee, Vice President Al Gore, Jr. It had James' daughter saying that when the Governor opposed the Legislation, it was like "my father was killed all over again". Really? I won't even mention that Al Gore was the originator of the very effective, and wrongly considered racist, Willie Horton ads. (originally run in the Democrat Primary against eventual nominee Michael Dukakis, Oh wait, I just did. Good. This actually is the perfect case to demonstrate the folly of so-called Hate crime laws.
Other than determining whether a murder is premeditated or not, the why of a crime IS irrelevant. Or, it should be. I think that we need some serious revision of our judicial process. Because the why shouldn't matter. A crime is committed, a suspect is caught, a trial occurs. Guilt, or innocence should not hinge on why. Truth in sentencing is paramount here, and right now, too much sentencing is dependent on wealth, prestige, and ability of the lawyer. I won't mention candidates in my post, other than to say that one IS standing for judicial reform.
Laws need to be reformed.
Leading the way should be drug laws. Either enforce them universally, or get rid of them.
Federal Laws should only apply to interstate activity. If a murder/kidnapping/etc is committed within a state, the feds should be hands off. Law enforcement is best when it is handled at the lowest level.
Obviously immigration reform. This is one of the VERY FEW constitutionally mandated dutiess of the federal government. If they can't do that, then there shouldn't be any federal law enforcement. Once done, deal with those here. SECURE the borders,
I could go on, but there is so much that needs to be reformed, it would take forever to list.
Our prisons need to be reformed so that the state can insure the protection of those it has incarcerated. They should be equal opportunity, and if someone thinks it is unfair that non violent white collar criminals shouldn't be in the same prison as murderers, than neither should non violent drug offenders.
We are going to have to fight for our freedoms, and any reforms. The governing class will not willingly surrender power. Even a libertarian president will struggle, and it doesn't matter whether it is a Republican or a Democrat Congress. The power brokers that reside in the shadows won't go quietly.
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