Three Students Held in Ala. Church Fires (say they did it as a "joke")

[Tab]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Three college students, including two aspiring actors known around campus as pranksters, were arrested Wednesday in a string of nine church fires that spread fear across Alabama last month.

Federal agents said the defendants claimed that the first few blazes were set as "a joke" and that the others were started to throw investigators off the track.
...
The papers said Moseley told agents that he, Cloyd and Debusk went to Bibb County in Cloyd's sport utility vehicle on Feb. 2 and set fire to five churches. A witness quoted Cloyd as saying Moseley did it "as a joke and it got out of hand."

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_re_us/church_fires

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Arson is a fucking joke? Really funny guys.

I guess rape is just hilarious to them too.

[cantstandbush]

26. You wouldn't expect them to confess to a hate crime, would you?

I think it is more than a prank or intended joke.

[rocktivity]

2. These college frat initiation rituals are getting out of hand!

Who were they pledging for--Klu-a Klux-a Klan-a?

:headbang:
rocknation

[Rex]

3. It's like Rush says,

crazy frat pranks and all! Next thing ya know that darn liberal media is gonna be accusing them of torturing people. :sarcasm:

[powwowdancer]

5. LMFAO

Good one. Rush Limp-bone's logic to a T. I love good sarcasm.

powwowdancer out

[Rex]

19. Thanks

I aim to please. :)

[brook]

4. "promising students...

from good families".

Case closed. :sarcasm:

[powwowdancer]

6. Hmmmm

Good famlies cold just as easily be read "white" families. This is the deep south. The whole "promising" thing is kinda vague... what kind of promise? They're college punks. I'll be curious to see whether or not they get serious time.

powwowdancer out

[Marie26]

60. "promising" = upper-class families

I know this type.

[raccoon]

32. Translation: from white, WELL-OFF families. nt

[Blue_Tires]

72. yeah, that made me puke as well

evidently the families were not 'good' enough since they raised a bunch of young arsonists

[newscott]

7. While I admire their anti-religious bent

I take issue with their tactics.

[Appalachian_American]

9. I don't think there was an anti-religious bent.

And so far there has been no admission that there was a homosexual agenda that Chris Mathews kept trying to put forth.

[AnnieBW]

29. Because They're Drama Majors

And everyone KNOWS that if you're a guy and a theater major, you must be queer! :D

[Charlie Brown]

25. How is there an "anti-religious bent" here

and what could you possibly find to admire in people who burn churches?

[Critters2]

59. You admire the persecuting of religious people?

That's very classy. Fundies feel the same way about you, but I suppose that's wrong of them.

[pinto]

8. I'm old enough to actually say this: I'm concerned about

the apathetic, anesthetized violence some kids seem to think is no big deal. When it gets out of hand they always cite, "it was just..."

Never thought I'd have this opinion, but there it is.

[BoneDaddy]

67. I agree

but let us not blame the kids entirely.

We live in a culture that glorifys daisy cutters and M-16', shock and awe, militarism, and a host of other violent related issues. They are our products.

[Bridget Burke]

68. If the kids really wanted to experience "shock & awe"....

Why didn't they enlist?

[Mad_Dem_X]

82. Get their @sses to Iraq! n/t

[Tight_rope]

87. LMBAO...You are so Right!

[daleo]

90. Ironically, had they joined the military

They could have blown up mosques in other countries from 20000 feet and be called heroes for it (e.g. Fallujah).

[slor]

10. I hope the punchline is a long...

stay in a federal pen.

[truthisfreedom]

11. sorry, i don't get it, guys. i'm really tryin' here, but i don't get the

joke.

i think they're the joke. what a completely idiotic thing to do to your life and the lives of thousands and thousands of others.

[NastyRiffraff]

12. I wonder if they'll think jail is a joke

And I hope they go there, despite being from "good families." Setting fire to any building, including churches, is serious.

[superconnected]

16. In my area jail is where they go if they get less than 1 year of incarcer

-ation.

These kids belong in prison. Multiple arsons is no joke. I hope the judge hits them hard. 5-7.

[nebula]

13. Multiple felonies

They should be spending many good years behind bars.

Good riddance.

[Critters2]

62. The US Attorney said she's asking for 5 years for every church

That's at least 50 per perp. Still seems light to me.

[rocktivity]

83. The attorney should also ask the the sentences run consecutively.

:mad:
rocknation

[Critters2]

91. Indeed

[pitohui]

14. helluva joke

i'm sorry, arson, repeated arson is no effn joke in my book

they've got to do some time, this ain't saturday nite live

[NYC Liberal]

15. Let's see if they're laughing after they're sent off to the slammer!

What sickos.

[Endangered Specie]

17. CNN said they could get 5 years per church!

:nopity: for them.

[nebula]

18. It's bad enough to set fire to just one church

But to doing it again and again to NINE is just beyond comprehension.

Some people are seriously f*cked up in the head.

[alarcojon]

20. Let me get this straight

You come up with this great "joke" - hey, let's set that church on fire. That's so funny, let's do it again, and again, and again, and again.

Was the setting of the other four fires as a diversion part of the joke? Sounds like premeditation on a silver platter to me.

[goclark]

21. It will be interesting to see the coverage

I wonder what it would be if the "pranksters" had been African American?

[alarcojon]

22. Yes, I wonder....

[goclark]

23. Yep, very interesting

They will probably have these young pranksters on with Dr. Phil/
They will say "sorry" and Ameika will give them a pass like they do George Bush.

Weren't the first churches they set fire to African American?

Huum

[Charlie Brown]

24. No, the first churches were white

But you're right, a minority culprit would be a greater target of condemnation. Regardless, these little bastards need to go to jail for the max. The "5-7" sentence I'm hearing from the news is too light. If they get anything less than 20 years, I'll be greatly dissappointed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/03/alabama.churchfires/

[goclark]

27. Link with locations and dates

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0602/interactive.fire.map/frameset.exclude.html

[Charlie Brown]

30. you said "first churches"

Five of the six churches attacked on Feb. 3 were predominantly white.

[goclark]

36. Thanks Charlie Brown

I really liked the way the link was designed.

It helped a lot.

[Tight_rope]

88. Just imagine what would have come next, if they had gotten away.

with this tragic crime. The more I think about it the more I'm fucking mad about what these SOB's did.

[alarcojon]

89. That's the thing

EVEN if these burnings had been a "joke" (and I don't believe that for one second) they fit into a context where they could have easily led to copycat crimes, where perhaps tragic loss of life would occur - probably tragic loss of African American life and property. Certain things you don't "joke" about, because they are so loaded. You don't "jokingly" burn crosses on black people's front lawns. You don't "jokingly" deface Planned Parenthood offices. You don't "jokingly" phone in bomb threats to airports.

These little punks are just hoping the "joke gone out of hand" line will make them seem ignorant of societal factors they were surely very aware of.

[Critters2]

70. The churches burned the first night included black and white congregations

[raccoon]

31. If these POSes had been black or Hispanic, I don't think the

media would use the words "joke" in reporting this.

I hope these spoiled little creeps spend some time in jail. If they are so intrigued by fire, why don't they join the military? There are lots of fires in Iraq to be intrigued by.

[underpants]

34. The headline would be about the "disrespectful" and "immature"

youths excuse me ----- young blacks.

Notice how the cops seem to be almost protecting them from the media. If they were black we would read disparaging remarks about them and the parenting they received and they would be brought out in leg irons for all to see.

[brentspeak]

47. ???????????

Now the media is "racist" because the word "joke was in the headline? :freak:

The reason the headline says "Say they did it as a joke" is because the alleged gave that as their reason. If anything, including that in the headline makes the arsonists look even dumber.

[AnnieBW]

28. Spoiled Little Rich Boys

Geeze... more spoiled little rich kids that will probably get off with a slap on the wrist because Daddy's money will make it all better. They'll probably enter politics. As Republicans, naturally. :D

[Mind_your_head]

33. A church in my area was set on fire and burned to the ground six years ago

That 'nice young white man' from a good family got 20 years. THEN he tried to arrange the murder of the informant that he bragged to about it from his jail cell - too bad the guy he was arranging it with was a cop *oops* - now he's got life-in-prison.

Frankly, the whole thing from stem-to-stearn was tragic. I don't think the arsonist will ever have any idea of how much hardship and pain he caused that church community - it was/is considerable. The arsonist from the 'nice family' was their ONLY CHILD and I can't even begin to imagine the pain that he has caused his parents.

I hope these young men get the full punishment of the law for their crimes. Saying that it was a "joke" just shows how pathetic these individuals truly are.

[Mika]

35. If either one was presdint, they'd get re-selected.

How many places of worship is Bush responsible for getting (fire)bombed in Afghanistan and Iraq?

[Wcross]

37. Did you hear the one about the "prison bitch"?

I think they are going to have tons of laughs once they get into the Alabama prison system!

[Retired AF Dem]

81. Cross these are federal charges

Federal prison. Wonder if they will like Kansas?

[kestrel91316]

38. Maybe they should be forced to watch some other prankster

torch their parents' homes and see them burn to the ground.

Sounds like a couple of brats who got handed everything they ever wanted on a silver platter and were never told there is such a thing as social responsibility.

Anybody know if the parents are perhaps REPUBLICAN????

[goclark]

39. Good question

Edit: What is the name of that website that tell how much a person donates to a political party?

[VaYallaDawg]

54. One of them is opensecrets.org.

It lists nearly all the federal officeholders and many of the states as well.

[NYC]

75. The father of one of them is an elected Republican.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x620121

According to today's Decatur Alabama "Daily", Benjamin Moseley's father ran for office in Jefferson County Alabama in 2004....

"A lawyer for DeBusk did not immediately return a message seeking comment, and court files did not list an attorney for Moseley, whose father ran unopposed for a constable's position in Jefferson County in 2004."

[kestrel91316]

77. I also note that the private Methodist university they attend

cost a whopping $21k a year in tuition!!!!

My niece at NYU doesn't pay THAT MUCH!!!!!!!!!!


Spoiled rich brats. I was right.

[Charlie Brown]

78. 21 THOUSAND? Good Grief!

That's comparable to the tuition at places like Emory. The school can certainly AFFORD to rebuild each and every church and then some.

[stepnw1f]

40. This Was No Prank

This is serial arsen... They had to have an agenda and I hope it gets uncovered.

[otohara]

41. 30 Years in Jail - Now That's Funny

ain't it boys?

[otohara]

42. Statement From College - Plans to Help w/ Aid & More

Statement from Birmingham-Southern College President Dr. David Pollick:

“In response to the two students having been charged with arson of nine Alabama community churches, Birmingham-Southern College has suspended each student from the college and immediately banned them from campus awaiting further action by the authorities. The students, faculty and staff of our college are at once shocked and outraged, and we share the sorrow of our neighbors whose churches represent the heart and soul of their communities.

“These cruel and senseless acts of destruction have profoundly touched our college community. Where there once existed such a clear line between the harmless and playful and the harmful and cruel, we increasingly see young adults throughout our nation incapable of distinguishing between healthy and destructive conduct. Boundaries are all too often exceeded. The social use of alcohol moves easily and too frequently to dangerous irresponsibility. Innocent and healthy stages of interpersonal social encounters too frequently degrade to violent and personal acts of violation. We see symptoms of a culture of personal license so powerfully magnified in the actions of these young men.

“We also are deeply concerned for the families of these young men, knowing the pain they are experiencing. The entire community of Birmingham-Southern College—students, faculty, and staff—pledges to aid in the rebuilding of these lost churches through our resources and our labor. Together we’ll stand as a reminder of the strength of communities that transcend the differences of religion and place, as well as the effects of mindless cruelty.”

http://www.bsc.edu/communications/news/active/20060308_fires.htm

[Occulus]

43. Good thing them fags can't get married, though.

I have sympathy for these churches and the parishoners- but only to a point.

Sorry.

[otohara]

45. What Does This Have

to do with a "liberal arts" college pledge to offer help?

[Critters2]

64. These were small, rural churches

with no political power, serving poor parishioners. They may not support gay marriage, but your hatred is misplaced.

No one deserves to have a church burned down. And your hatred will only feed theirs.

[alarcojon]

48. I'm pleasantly surprised

at how strong this statement is. No whiff of "boys will be boys" in the air.

[WinkyDink]

44. They'll need those senses of humor for a loooong time.

I hear Bubba is a regular laff-riot!

[hedgehog]

46. The headline is what kills me

It started as a joke, and THEN it got out of hand.

I wonder how much alcohol was involved in all of this?

As soon as any of my kids was old enough to go out with a group,I made a point to warn them and their friends every time that as individuals they were bright and responsible kids, but that a a group, their individual IQs were divided by the number of kids in the group and further divided by a factor of the lateness of the hour. In other words, the more teenagers in the group, the later the hour, the dumber the things they'll do. College students setting churches on fire is a little beyond that though. It sounds like someone's always had Daddy's money to bail him out, not unlike our current President.

[pinniped]

49. Sure, we all used to that back in the days for laughs.

.

[genie_weenie]

50. What's the big deal?

5 buildings destroyed, 4 damaged. No one injured. I feel sorrow and compassion for the perpetrators. Society forced this upon them. And after all they haven't been convicted yet.

They should be charged with 9 counts of arson.

[Charlie Brown]

52. They're rich college kids

who decided to torch churches for kicks. Yeah, it's all society's fault.

I feel sorrow and compassion for the people who's churches were destroyed. Screw the perpetrators.

[raccoon]

53. Give me a break, give me an effing break!

"I feel sorrow and compassion for the perpetrators. Society forced this upon them. "

Did you maybe forget this in your post? :sarcasm:

[genie_weenie]

55. I was merely trying to point out I have seen more compassion

for convicted murders on DU, than these 3 kids. Who, at this point, are still innocent.

[raccoon]

56. What riles lots of people the most, I think, is the way their crimes

are referred to as "pranks" and a "joke."

[genie_weenie]

61. Come on

Hasn't that been a staple of modern America? Does anyone ever stand up and act accountable? The best Defense is to try and portray this as a simple prank gone terribly wrong.

But, it's interesting to see the DU reaction...

And I stress they are alleged, not convicted...

[raccoon]

63. See my post #31. nt

[genie_weenie]

66. Gotta disagree

Did a search and I didn't see the MSM reporting this as a joke...

http://news.google.com/news?q=church+fires&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2005-40,GGLR:en&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr

[Sgent]

71. Uh... I don't think anyone is referring to these crimes as jokes...

except for the perps.

[raccoon]

85. On edit--apparently they have now. nt

[The_Casual_Observer]

57. Please! I was only joking!

I'd like to "joke" with those pimply faced motherfuckers.

[Bridget Burke]

69. "Society forced this upon them"?

Sorry--for a moment I doubted you were being sarcastic.

[Xithras]

51. Hate crime.

You don't burn NINE churches without some kind of ulterior motive. Maybe ONE could be justified as a "joke" that got out of hand, but nine is simply malicious. At least one of the boys has already admitted to being a satanist, and the others were apparently generally anti-religion. These attacks were an effort to destroy churches simply because they didn't like their message...it's a hate crime, pure and simple. Charge them, lock them up, and don't set them free until they are very old men.

[Critters2]

65. That Methodist College they were attending

was sure doin' a good job of teaching the Christian faith. :sarcasm:

[rocktivity]

84. DING DING DING! Xithras, you're our grand prize winner!

You don't burn NINE churches without some kind of ulterior motive...(it) is simply malicious...it's a hate crime, pure and simple.

This is their lawyers' media marketing strategy--call it a joke so they won't have the additional stigma of being guilty of a hate crime. Don't you get additional time for that?

:headbang:
rocknation

[Marie26]

58. ha ha.

It might not be funny to them after they're convicted for arson.

[PBass]

73. More fuel for the fire that academia is 'too secular' or 'anti-faith' (eom

[Marie26]

74. How so?

They were from a Christian college.

[LuckyLib]

76. You can bet they are lawyered up big time. And Mom and Dads will never

see the lens of a camera. Ever notice how the parents of the Columbine boys were invisible? Masterful evasion of the public eye. These little punks had too much time on their hands and too much booze in their bellies. We just had a similar torching (of two houses) in our state -- and the idiots filmed it on their cell phones! Ha! Nothing like a few young males out on the prowl for some excitement. 20 years in a state prison. Lots of excitement there.

[symbolman]

79. Hey, I know something that would be REALLY FUNNY

Let's LOCK them in an abandoned building, an old wood structure with no way out and SET IT ON FIRE..

What a "hoot" that would be, a real knee slapper..

Or like the old joke, where you take their penis and put it in a vise which locks, leave a sharp knife nearby, within reach, and THEN start the Building on fire.. Hilarious!

Actually, I would PAY to see that on Pay Per View in a heartbeat.

[Raine]

80. I bet they are repukes

cause that is just the kind of thing they would do as a prank, hypocrite assholes!

[Tight_rope]

86. I'm sure the parents of these 3 young pucks must be proud.

3 little :evilgrin: is what I see them as. When they are done doing time in prison, may they then burn in hell for what they have done. :nuke: