In a case of assault on the Red Line that we've been following, the alleged assailants have been indicted on felony and hate crime charges. "Kevin McAndrew and Benjamin Eder, both 23, and Sean Little, 21, all of Evanston, originally faced misdemeanor battery charges stemming from the Jan. 10 incident. Those charges were dropped and the three were immediately re-arrested as they left court on Feb. 24., police said. On Wednesday, the three men were each indicted on one count of hate crime and two counts of aggravated battery, according to Cook County State's Attorney's Office spokesman Andy Conklin. The men will appear for arraignment on March 26."Read more here, and past articles here and here.
Good luck re-entering society as ex-cons and explaining your hate crime convictions when looking for a job, losers!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the three of you will agree... you all made a very bad decision that will follow you for the rest of your lives...
Based on my understanding of this, which I got entirely from UU, this is political. This does not rise to the level of a real "hate crime."
ReplyDeleteI know people on this site will disagree with me.
This law needs to be re-written.
Quick follow-up to my last post, these guys are total A$$holes and deserve to be punished. I'd prefer a public flogging, or a good keel-hauling. Maybe tied to a horse and dragged down the street.
ReplyDeleteI just don't like the Hate Crime stuff because the way it is written leaves it open to abuse.
Well, what part of beating someone up for ANY reason and calling them ANY name ISN'T a hate crime? What if someone is getting beat up for being a republican? For having brown hair? It makes no difference.
ReplyDeleteJason, the Illinois statute is pretty clear - the assault must be based at least in part on "the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals"
ReplyDeleteIs there any part of that that you don't understand?
QC,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of citing the part of the statute that suits your agenda. I give you credit for that. As for your comment as to what I understand, I laugh at you.
Try reading my comment again, and understanding my position.
OK,
ReplyDeleteI am obsessing a little, I guess I am trying to lead a horse to water...
Read the Following US Supreme Court case...Bowers v. Hardwick. Sorry, too busy to give you the Cite. Then read all the previous cases that are cited in the case. You might figure out that Kennedy contradicts himself...
Anyway, Kennedy was wrong and the hate crime legislation is wrong. Figure out on your why they connect.
Be a big boy or girl and figure it out...
Passing "Hate Crime" legislation does not really help the gay rights issue.
Jason, what part of the statute did I leave out that doesn't "suit my agenda"? There is a lot more language in the statute but I quoted the section that seemed most relevant to your inquiry.
ReplyDeleteDo you take issue with the motivations listed in the statute? Do you think they don't rise to the level of requiring extra protection? And do you think other motivations such as your examples of hair color and political party deserve to be treated the same way as those listed in the statute? If so, it sounds not so much like you think the statute is open to abuse, but rather think the statute's intended purpose is wrong to begin with. Is that the case? If not, can you explain? I'm genuinely curious here.
Never mind, you are missing my point.
ReplyDeleteEven though you've posted six times, I'm not sure anyone here understands your point.
ReplyDeleteUptown Dweller: They will "re-enter society" quite well in "uptown" (job or not).
ReplyDeleteTo all...I am very involved in this case through a new group called Out for Justice Chicago (see Facebook) - I agree the Hate Crime laws are very tough, but knowing many details of this particular case, this is indeed a crime with some hate behind it. We can only hope that felony charges will make people think twice. I also know that the State's Attorney's office is doing a lot of great work teaching kids that this is never ok and how it can ruin their lives and the lives of their victims.
ReplyDelete