This article is about a man from Long Island who was found guilty in a manslaughter that was classified as a hate crime. The defendant was found not guilty in murder as a hate crime. Officials were saying Long Island is sending out the wrong message through this court case and the crimes in Long Island need to stop. The sentencing can be from 8 years to 25 years for first degree manslaughter which means if the man can make it through his sentencing in jail he will be back out on the streets. As seen in my comment about the man who killed 2 girls being back out on the streets I am still confused as to how you can kill someone deliberately and NOT receive the death penalty for it. Obviously the man knew what he was doing and he was also connected with a gang meaning there definitely more people like him all over the country looking to kill again.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/19/hate.crime.verdict/index.html?hpt=T2
From what I have read in online articles and newspapers, the death penalty is sometime taken off the 'table' if the accused pleads differently and accepts a plea-bargain. Also, the death penalty is permitted in 34 states...and New York (Staten Island) is not one of them.
ReplyDeleteAn article that explains the death penalty further: http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=25995
I know the poster was stating a more rhetorical question about the death penalty, but I wanted to add some additional information. =)
This post got me interested in finding out some details on the difference between manslaughter as a hate crime and murder as a hate crime. As shown below, it hinges on intention. "Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind. This is particularly true within the law of homicide, where murder requires either the intent to kill, a state of mind called malice, or malice aforethought, which may involve an unintentional killing but with a wilful disregard for life."
ReplyDeleteWhile the article doesn't say so, he was probably found guilty of voluntary (as opposed to involuntary) manslaughter. "Voluntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant kills with malice aforethought (intention to kill or cause serious harm), but there are mitigating circumstances which reduce culpability. Voluntary manslaughter is a lesser included offence of murder. The traditional mitigating factor was provocation, however others have been added in various jurisdictions."
All quotes above are from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manslaughter