01-23-2014, 11:03 PM
(01-23-2014, 09:42 PM)Maggot Wrote: Hate crime?
In all of my years following crime stories, the only people that get charged with hate crimes are the ones who are stupid enough to leave a bunch of evidence indicating that they targeted a victim because of his/her color, religion, or sexual orientation. It's a hard charge to prove otherwise. Baldwin didn't hand LE such evidence, Barrett did.
There are probably a ton of criminals who targeted people based on such factors who couldn't be charged with a "hate crime" because they didn't make public declarations, tape themselves with video or audio describing their intended victims...
Personally,I think crime is crime for the most part. However, if you target the elderly or disabled (regardless of their race or sexual orientation) to prey upon violently, the penalties should be as harsh as possible. Fuckwads.
To me, non-seniors and physically able people of different races and sexual preferences than their assaulters are in no way presumed any weaker than anyone else.
The laws are what they are though, and whatever gets Barrett the most time is okay by me. As for Baldwin, he lives in a jurisdiction with harsher penalties for assaulting the elderly. He may well end up doing more time than Barrett, even if Barrett is convicted of a hate crime. That's okay by me too.