re: Former Ole Miss student who placed noose on James Meredith statue gets prison

quote:

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I agree. However, I believe that sentencing guidelines are extremely skewed in many, many cases. Mandatory minimums and all that... But that is too much for this thread. I just do not think that the punishment fit the crime in this instance.

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I can accept that. I would not have been as harsh. I would have made him do a bunch of community service and pay restitution. I would have ordered him to write a 200 page essay on the history of the civil rights movement and the role the guy in the statue played in integrating Ole Miss.

But, I too hate "hate" crimes. Beating a guy up just because he is asian is irrelevant to the crime. It's no different than beating a guy up because he fricked your wife. Beating is beating. The crime is assault.

Here, whether intended or not, the crime is intimidation of others based on their race. The act is racial intimidation. It is a different crime all together.