They charged the suspect with (presumably three counts of) first degree murder. The penalty for that in North Carolina is either death or life imprisonment without parole.
http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-17.html
I initially figured that the crime was about the parking space, but then I realized that I look through the lens of living in an area with a very large Muslim population. Here, arguments over stupid stuff happen between folks of all races, and it’s probably the stupid stuff and not the racism that is at the core with neighbors. But maybe I am naive about this, as well. The one thing I know for sure is that I don’t know what it is like to be in the shoes of those who are discriminated against based on their race or religion … no matter what, three lives were lost for no good reason, and I am so sorry for their families.
Note that North Carolina has hate crime laws:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-3.html
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-401.14.html
(see also discussion at http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2015/02/north-carolina-killings-what-is-a-hate-crime.html )
14-3 enhances the penalties for a misdemeanor that is a hate crime, but does not apply in this case, since first degree murder is a felony. 14-401 could possibly apply to add a class 1 misdemeanor to the charges. Penalties for such are described at:
It is perhaps understandable that the prosecution wants to just move forward with the first degree murder charges which are probably not hard to prove and which already carry the maximum possible penalty of death or life without parole, and not bother with a more difficult to prove hate crime charge that could add 1 to 45 days to the sentence.
I think for the family, at least, it’s a matter of principle. I’m sure they’re well aware that the sentencing won’t change (capital punishment can’t really be heightened) even if this is labelled a hate crime, but they believe that their family members were killed because of religious bias. That may or may not be true, but they see these deaths a hate crime, and they want it prosecuted as such.
Someone also pointed out that labeling this as a hate crime gives the federal government the power to step in if the local government looks the other way. While, like the original poster of that comment, I agree that that’s unlikely (this will almost certainly be followed through at the local level), it might be a safeguard that the family wants.
The family is pushing that motivation and the FBI is investigating but proving that intent is a pretty high bar and so far all I have seen are a few anti-religion Facebook posts and interestingly he even has one post that reads as pro-muslim. Prosecuting something as a hate crime is rare by the feds because bias as a motive is very difficult and often impossible to prove.
Additionally, the sister feels that if it were a muslim who did the killing it would be labeled terrorism real fast and I fully understand why she feels that way but it is untrue as we can easily see by looking at such crimes including the recent beheading in OK which was officially called workplace violence not terror, too. But, it’s true that the family feels it was a hate crime. And, either way I don’t think he will be seeing the outside of a prison cell anytime soon.
Regarding diversity in national universities.
UNC-CH, is as diverse as Boston College, College of Wm & Mary,…
It’s just about in the middle.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/campus-ethnic-diversity/page+6
“Of course that is a matter of personal opinion, but that topic has been open to debate for several years and has many opinions. I live in Saudi Arabia and still chose not to wear it, but my mother does. And I’m quite used to my mother receiving negative comments about how she should make me wear it. Some people simply don’t understand what a choice is.”
Where in Saudi Arabia are women allowed to not wear hijab (other than a Western compound / military base). I was in Jeddah, wore full abaya amd hijab, and did not see a single, solitary woman who wasn’t completely covered. Indeed, I was the exception since I didn’t cover my face - most of them had the veiled face as well where you could just see their eyes. There were religious police around. My hosts were very clear that I needed to wear this at all times. And this was Jeddah which is more liberal than Riyadh. Where in SA are you?
@Pizzagirl I live in the eastern province, in Khobar. It’s more liberal here but the religious police still roam around on weekends. But the worst they can do is yell at women to cover themselves. They are more strict in Makkah, riyadh and Jeddah. I think they’re losing power and popularity here.
At the risk of offending, an article in the NYT about news coverage in Jordan and other Arab countries highlights a huge divide. While we here and elsewhere in the US are upset that people were killed and talk about whether this was aimed at them for religious reasons, overseas what matters is that Muslims were killed by non-Muslims.
I lived in Jeddah for two years and Alkhobar for one and I never wore a head scarf or veil. I would wear the abaya if I felt like wearing something that I would have been uncomfortable in public in like jeans and a t-shirt.
@Lergnom That’s true. Everyone around me is outraged because of the incident. Someone even said that they were sure justice won’t be served because the victims were muslim. Which doesn’t really make sense because it’s not like the judge will declare him innocent for killing muslims. That’s messed up logic.
Re #168
Most people in most parts of the world think tribalistically. Meaning that a wrong against someone of their own group by someone of another group is seen as more wrong than a wrong against some other. It is true in the US, but somewhat less obviously since naked tribalism is politically incorrect. But you can tell by different reactions to some incidents in the news recently, or assumptions about the demographics of terrorists.
3bm, were you on a Western compound? Because even in my Western hotel in Jeddah, I did not see a single woman without abaya/hijab. None.
In Alkhobar we lived in an apartment in the city. I walked around to shops just fine. In Jeddah we did live in a compound and inside the compound we could wear whatever we wanted including bathing suits by the pool. But even when we went shopping, or out to dinner I was not covered. Riyahd was worse and I would wear the abaya in public but never covered my head or face even there.
The absurdity continues: on a day when a man fires 200 bullets into a café in Copenhagen because an artist speaking there drew images of Muhammed, killing 1 and wounding 3 others, and on a day when also in Copenhagen shots were fired into a Jewish house of worship, hitting one person in the head, wounding at least 2 more, the government of Palestine … I’ll quote it … issued a statement calling for ‘a serious investigation and the involvement of Palestinian investigators to clarify the circumstances of these assassinations and premeditated murders.’ The mind reels.
I note that our President issued a statement about these murders because of course the murders of Muslims are different, it appears, than the murders of so many others in this country. Or rather because the Arab world is nuts.
@Lergnom you probably forgot that the president also issued statements on the police officers who were murdered in NYC. Let’s not forget his statements on the Staten Island homicide, Treyvon Martin, etc. It isn’t that murders of Muslims are different, it’s the fact that certain killings catch the attention of the media and become front page news. Inevitably, the president has to make a statement for his supporters and detractors.
Any more nuts than anyone else?
Here in the US, when something questionable happens involving a police officer and a black person hits the news, lots of people immediately jump into assumptions about whether the officer’s actions were right or wrong, or racist.
Or, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms office in Oklahoma City was bombed, why did everyone seem to immediately assume that it was some sort of international terrorist group rather than the obvious homegrown terrorists who seemed to have a particular dislike for that government agency?
I happen to think the Arab world is nuts and I let that come out. Maybe because I’d just read a statement issued by Hizbollah that said the burning of captives is done by Zionists because the Talmud says they need blood. And because Jews are targeted all the time to the point where at the Danish synagogue attacked yesterday two of the wounded were police officers who must be there to protect the Jews from Muslims. So it really bothers me when the Arab world, which is the source of an insane amount of violence, cruelty and barbarity, starts to act offended.
Or this: "Around 1,000 people marched Sunday in Doha in solidarity with the three Muslim American students murdered last week by a white neighbour in what protesters in Qatar called “a terrorist act”.
The marchers carried banners calling for the “end of hate crimes”, “unity” and another read: “We all have the right to live free from hate.”
Among the marchers was the US ambassador to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, who tweeted that it was “good to see young people rejecting hate of all kinds”.
The march was a rare public demonstration for a country where protests are largely discouraged."
“So it really bothers me when the Arab world, which is the source of an insane amount of violence, cruelty and barbarity, starts to act offended”
The arab world is not acting offended, they ARE offended. I really don’t know, but where did you get that the arab world is the source of violence? If you are talking about isis,alqaeda and other terrorist groups these people barely makeup 1% of the arab population. And let’s be honest here, there are 400 million arabs in the world, if we were all violent and cruel we would be all dead by now.
Let me tell you something, as arabs we are the most targetted people by terrorist groups. Arabs are the largest victims to religious extremism, and the fact that arabs are dying in the middle east as well as being targetted by hate crimes in the west has caused many people to be outraged.
And btw, muslim facilities in Europe have been attacked ever since the Charlie Hebdo attacks. I bet no news agency focused on that because guess what, it’s not news worthy.