Can someone tell me why this case wasn't classified as a hate crime too.

[rainlillie]

"According to the lawsuit, the 18-year-old victim was called names including Kool-Aid,

chicken-eater,” “watermelon” and the N-word by his football teammates beginning in the summer of 2015."



"A former Idaho high school football player originally charged with sexually assaulting his mentally disabled teammate will avoid jail time and escape classification as a sex offender after pleading guilty to a lesser felony.

John R.K. Howard, 19, of Keller, Tex., pleaded guilty to a felony count of injury to a child and will be sentenced to two to three years of probation and up to 300 hours of community service, the Idaho Statesmen reported. A judge will decide the final sentence on Feb. 24.

Deputy Attorney General Casey Hemmer said if the case had gone to trial, prosecutors would have been able to prove Howard kicked a coat hanger into his teammate’s rectum during the October 2015 attack — but a modified guilty plea submitted by the teen allows him to maintain his innocence while still acknowledging he would have otherwise been convicted.

Howard initially faced up to life in prison, a fine as much as $50,000 and registration as sex offender."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/19/1612774/-Looks-like-no-jail-time-for-white-teen-who-sexually-assaulted-black-disabled-student-with-coathanger

http://www.ktvb.com/news/crime/white-dietrich-football-players-accused-of-raping-mentally-disabled-black-teammate-in-locker-room/214759380

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I'm in total agreement about hate crimes should include attacks upon the physically, mentally, and/o

emotionally disabled.

Here's a famous case from my home state of New Jersey almost 30 years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Ridge_rape

[rainlillie]

2. Yes, I remember that horrible case. In the case I posted about the victim is

African American and the predators are white. The victim was also mentally disabled.

[dsc]

4. I think though the hate crime charge is based on race

not mental ability.

[rainlillie]

5. The victim was African American and the predators were white.

[dsc]

7. I meant in the other case that got the hate crime charge

in the ID case it appears race wasn't involved (at least not overtly) while in the IL case racial epithets against whites were used.

[Ace Rothstein]

8. That doesn't mean it is a hate crime.

The problem with this case is that there should not have been a plea and the perp should have done jail time.

[rainlillie]

10. The parents claim the victim was racially harassed before the assault.

.

[Ace Rothstein]

14. Well then it very well could have been a hate crime.

I'm just stating white on black or black on white doesn't classify a crime as a hate crime.

[whathehell]

17. You can hear it on the tape DURING the assault, for God's sake...

"Fuck whites" "Fuck Trump", and, oh yeah, some insults about his mental disability...Nice folks.

[rainlillie]

18. I'm glad the victim in that crime is going to get justice, but the victim in the case I posted about

will have to seek justice via the civil courts.

[whathehell]

30. Got you. n/ t.

[whathehell]

13. Really?

I wonder how many would have e said that if the racial.situation were reversed, and judging from recent and not so recent history, I'm guessing zero to none..

[Ace Rothstein]

16. Yes, really.

I don't know many of the details of this case, it very well could have been a hate crime. Just because a crime is white on black or black on white doesn't mean it was a hate crime. The Chicago case appears to be because the perps repeatedly said "fuck white people" during said crimes.

[whathehell]

29. Not really in this instance. If you "don't know many of the details of this case", go learn them

The assault was taped and is available on at least one other thread here.

As to your "just becauses", I'm well.aware that every interracial crime is not automatically a "hate" crime and said nothing

that would have indicated that to be my understanding. As I said, you need to educate yourself on the case, as most here have done.

[HoneyBadger]

3. If I had to guess, a different state with different laws

[rainlillie]

6. I thought hate crimes were federal crimes.

[HoneyBadger]

11. Not always

DOJ decides whether to make them federal or leave it to the state

[rainlillie]

15. It seems this should have been classified as such... The racial taunts before the assault

should have been enough.

[kelly1mm]

9. Hate crimes are based on the attack being perpitrated based on some protected status. Hate

crimes are not based of the victim(s) and perpetrated different racial/disability/religious/gender status. You seem to be implying that any crime where the victim and perpetrator are different races or differently abled or different religions or different genders would be a hate crime. Am I wrong in that assumption?

Perhaps what we need is an 'enhancement' like for crimes against police officers for crimes against the disabled????

[rainlillie]

12. According to the lawsuit, the 18-year-old victim was called names including Kool-Aid,

chicken-eater,” “watermelon” and the N-word by his football teammates beginning in the summer of 2015.'
Sounds like a hate crime to me.

[kelly1mm]

21. You should add that to the OP as the sections you quote do not mention that at all. nt

[rainlillie]

23. Okay.

[SaschaHM]

22. That just shows that the teammates were racist...

not that they committed the crime because he was black or mentally disabled. The prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual's status was the motive for the attack. Hence why hate crimes prosecutions are rare. They may have singled him out because he was black or mentally disabled, but absent a confession on their part, private motives such as those are very hard to prove to juries. Few people are going to say "I attacked him because he was black". Yes, the taunts could be used as evidence to paint a bigger case, but on their own they don't prove motive. They just prove that racists were using racist language and that's not a crime.

(I went down this rabbit hole yesterday since apparently the party that passed a Federal Hate Crimes bill doesn't understand that it is about motive not status.)

[sarisataka]

19. Can't give an answer

as it could quite easily be considered a hate crime. Also the downgrading of charges and plea deals to allow this to become a probationary sentence is disgusting.

[rainlillie]

20. Yeah, it's beyond my comprehension why there was no jail time. this is a perfect example..

as to why some minorities feel the justice system doesn't work for them.

[hunter]

24. "Scary Black or Brown Person of the Day" is a regular feature of television news in the U.S.A..

That's one of the reasons I don't watch that crap. My television only plays movies. I don't suffer television advertising or propaganda.

I read the local newspapers and get my national and international news from more reputable sources.

The BBC is still pretty good, with some biases about international financial markets. They don't go looking for dirt in those. But they're not nearly so bad as NPR's constant groveling at the feet of Big Money. Oh, look, we have happy today, stocks are rising! Oh no, we have sads, stocks are falling!

News sources like CNN or MSNBC are just irritating. News-like stuff. Pasteurized process cheese product. FOX news is, of course, a public toilet that's rarely cleaned.

[whathehell]

31. I see..

so you only consider it credible if a White person is "the scary person of the day". Got it.

[hunter]

33. WTF? Where did I say that?

But it's absolutely true I have no fondness for the affluent white culture I grew up in. I have no patience with "tolerant" white people who think that makes them special. Whoop-de-doo. Tolerance is bullshit. Celebrating diversity is the only way to go.

As a kid, starting maybe in the sixth grade, I was called "queerbait" and frequently beaten bloody.

The best thing I ever did was quit high school and flee that culture.

I wish the Democratic Party would stop pandering to the sort of affluent white guys who voted for Trump or didn't vote at all. We ought to be the party of EVERYONE else.

[Yo_Mama]

25. Hate crime runs to motivation, not the identity of the victim.

So it's always a bit of an issue as to proof.

If you ask me, the earlier stuff goes to show that it is hate crime, and a good prosecutor should be able to get that in at trial.

[coco22]

26. Melanin...

[Lil Missy]

27. Because

I see nothing to indicate he attacked the victim because he is mentally disabled. Perhaps he's an Equal Opportunity Asshole.

[rainlillie]

28. It seems the racial taunts prior to the assault is what should have been considered.

[whathehell]

32. Oh, for God's sake..

They called him names on the BASIS of his mental disorder, so it seems they were not "unaware" of it...Stop reaching, already.

[mythology]

34. The prosecutor decided to not charge it as a racial hate crime

But Idaho state law doesn't include disability as a protected class for hate crimes as best I can tell.


http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/12/white-idaho-high-school-football-player-charged-in-rape-of-black-disabled-teammate-to-avoid-jail-time/

[HipChick]

35. White and black people are treated differently in the Justice system

[Sissyk]

36. Can you answer a question for me?

I'm having trouble finding out about the actions taken against the two minors that were involved in this horrible case. What happen d to them? Also, this horrid kid (Howard) gets "sentenced" in February.

They all deserve much more!