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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (2873)	10/17/2000 12:36:23 PM
From: epicure	Respond to of 10042

I agree with you. There is a healthy social reason to have hate crimes on the books. And you are right about minorities and punishment. There was a very good article on executions in Texas- very sad. Minorities are certainly being disproportionately affected. And the punishment given to perpetrators who choose black victims is different that the punishment given to perpetrators who pick white victims.

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (2873)	10/17/2000 12:38:34 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10042

So I think the problem is that the so-called US justice is not impartial in the first place. The case of a white woman raped by a black man will not lead to the same trial as, say, a black girl raped by a white man --at least not south of Mason-Dixon line.... Is that right? If it is true, it is wrong and it should be addresed directly rather then by creating or extending "hate-crime" laws. Tim

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (2873)	10/17/2000 12:52:19 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

The case of a white woman raped by a black man will not lead to the same trial as, say, a black girl raped by a white man --at least not south of Mason-Dixon line.... In my mind it ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. But hey... as I was telling folks a couple of weeks ago, I have a relative who did 5 years in the penitentiary for chronic repeat offenses for DUI, public drinking in violation of probation, and failing to accept a court-appointed rehabilitation program. He did all five years, despite the fact that no one to my recollection was ever harmed physically by his crimes. And he's white. And also fortunately he seems to have learned his lesson, is working, and is much more willing to keep himself in line with social norms of behavior. So with regard to the "fairness" of criminal punishment, it's all kinda relative to me on the basis of what I've personally seen. But as I said... if the punishment doesn't fit the crime, there is the court of appeals and over the long-term, the political process whereupon more fair and logical judges can be appointed. Judges who are interested in protecting the rights of everyone, not just a special section of society. Btw, don't begin to tell me that it's different in Europe. All Judges have a political constituency in their local communities. Regards, Ron