Comments on: West Virginia Woman Kidnapped and Tortured – Possible Hate Crime

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:48:37 +0000

The user deleted this comment.

By: andrewwang

andrewwang — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:48:37 +0000

Speaking of hate crime(s):

George W. Bush is a hate-crime criminal (indicated at http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/2008/11/ge... “George W. Bush did in fact commit innumerable hate crimes”).

Bush was malicious.

Bush will go down in history in infamy.

Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993

“GEORGE W. BUSH IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY” BLOG OF ANDREW YU-JEN WANG

ONLINE, ANTI-BUSH, EDUCATIONAL, SCHOLASTIC RESEARCH: LISTING OF MAJOR ISSUES

http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/2009/01/on...

By: andrewwang

andrewwang — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:48:37 +0000

Speaking of hate crime(s):

George W. Bush is a hate-crime criminal (indicated at http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/2008/11/ge... “George W. Bush did in fact commit innumerable hate crimes”).

Bush was malicious.

Bush will go down in history in infamy.

Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993

“GEORGE W. BUSH IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY” BLOG OF ANDREW YU-JEN WANG

ONLINE, ANTI-BUSH, EDUCATIONAL, SCHOLASTIC RESEARCH: LISTING OF MAJOR ISSUES

http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/2009/01/on...

By: justice58

justice58 — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:36:00 +0000

boxerdave

Lets hope!

I want them to pay for what they did to this defenseless woman. These animals are a threat to society!

By: BoxerDave

BoxerDave — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:04:00 +0000

gabriel, Thank you for your comments. I’ll add one of my own. Whether or not hate crimes charges are filed (in the ideal world, they would be; but, hey, in the real world hate crimes wouldn’t occur), it is really important that this woman’s ordeal is tallied as a hate crime by the FBI. Too many times, it seems, hate crime statistics are under-reported because the FBI does not hear from the state that a hate crime occurred. Let’s hope law enforcement counted this lady’s trauma as a hate crime (actually, it’s several hate offenses), and let’s hope that they participate in providing hate crime statistics to the FBI.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:16:00 +0000

The news coverage on this has poisoned the public’s understanding of hate crime laws.

1) Hate crime laws cannot be prosecuted by the federal government unless the victim’s civil rights were being abridged (i.e. voting, going to school, etc)… it’s the STATE who is in charge of adding hate crime charges. W.Va. Code § 61-6-21
“makes commission of crime because of victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation or sex an aggravating circumstance in imposing sentence.” Clearly this meets WV state law standards. This brings me to point number 2.

2) This is NOT a matter of which charge has the harsher sentence. As you can plainly see the code above, it is an “aggravating circumstance in imposing sentence”… which means that when they are actually convicted of kidnapping and abuse, the hate crime charge will make their punishment longer than it would have been had they not been convicted of a hate crime. It’s not an either/or scenario, it’s both. It’s true that two of them are being charged with kidnapping, which carries a “maximum” of a life sentence, but there is no guarantee they will be given life. In their case the hate crime charge would raise this possibility. Remember, there are no set rules for sentencing; it’s completely up to the judge and he can’t punish them for something they’re not convicted of. Also there are several perpetrators that are not being charged with kidnapping, so there is no chance of sentencing “overlap” with them.

The real reason why the prosecutors don’t want to charge a hate crime? Because the trial will be in West Virginia, and they’re afraid that a) it will incense both the white and black communities and b) white jurors will be less likely to convict them of the kidnapping and abuse charges if this is made a racial case. It’s all the sad disgusting reality of playing politics with justice.

By: MountainLaurel

MountainLaurel — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:48:00 +0000

I've been horrified since I heard the barest details on Sunday night. When I heard it, there was no racial factor: I just heard that six people in Logan County had kidnapped and abused a woman for a week. That sickened me, and it wasn't until later that I heard that racial factor and the sick details.

Yet I'm a pragmatist. I want these people locked up so that they never see the light of day. If we can fix it so that they never breathe the air again, that'd be great too. So if they can get that with kidnapping and not with hate crimes, I say go for the kidnapping. Whatever works to get these folks out of the civilized world where the rest of us live.

I think, though, that this case indicates the need for tougher hate crimes laws. When someone is charged with a hate crime, that should be the toughest punishment possible. I think that's what we should all work towards.

By: no southern bell

no southern bell — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:50:00 +0000

This reminds me of the Tawana Case.
Yet it is getting no national play in the media.

If this is not bias case, I can think of one that is– I am looking to see if they will be able (the media) to sweep what it is and its implications under the rug. One think is clear the South remains with us.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:51:00 +0000

There’s a reason they aren’t going to pursue the “hate crime” label for the case…

“While federal civil rights or state hate crime charges remain an option, a state kidnapping count that carries a sentence of up to life in prison will provide the best chance for successful prosecution, officials said.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_re_us/woman_tortured_36

As a black guy, I am SICKENED to hear news stories like this… but that shouldn’t matter… as a man, woman, or child of ANY race, you should be horrified to hear anything close to this…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:28:00 +0000

This story is horrendous! I am shocked that anyone would do something like this to someone else because of race. The reality of the situation is that these rednecks know that they are pathetic losers and that their lives have no purpose so they need to put someone down to make themselves feel “better” than someone. That way, they don’t have to admit to themselves that they are uneducated gutless hillbillies. It is sickening.

As a white guy, I’m embarrassed to hear news stories like this one. These things should not be happening in America in 2007. It is inexcusable and disgusting on all levels of humanity.

By: justice58

justice58 — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:45:00 +0000

Well here we go!

The feds will NOT be filing hate crimes against the scum bags because it seems the victim may have had some type of social relationship with one of the accused.

Don't that beat all! She was brutally raped, stabbed, beaten, choked, bitten, and called racial slurs & now no hate crime charges.

I'm shaking my head in dismay!

By: glory

glory — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:19:00 +0000

This is obviously a hate crime. Too bad we’re all so consumed with the circus antics at the VMA music awards to be concerned.

By: ddsharper

ddsharper — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:54:00 +0000

And just think, for 300 years, slaves and Jim Crow Negroes had absolutely no intervention. We just heard about this one. I bet there are tons of cases we never hear about. I was sitting in my car behind a huge truck full of rednecks in Salisbury, NC. One of them got out, went to a tree on a main street and took a leak. A few minutes later he comes to the back of the truck, went to the window and shook the hands of the black lady behind the counter, who had no idea that he’d just urinated. He took her hand in one of his and began rubbing the top of her hand with his other hand. When I drove up to the window and told the cashier what he’d done, she immediately washed her hands. The look on her face was one of disbelief and shock. These manifestations of racism are rarely cited. Stories like Megan Williams in West Va demonstrate the danger, one of the dangers, of being black in America and not being vigilant. Denial is a mother.