The first-degree murder conviction of a Colorado man is being called the first the first in the nation to include a hate-crime designation for the killing of a transgender person.
Allen Andrade will serve life in prison for killing a teenager he met online in a social networking site.
"I lost somebody so precious," said Maria Zapata, the victim's mother. CNN reported that the mother then glanced at Andrade and continued: "The only thing he can't take away is the love and the memories that I have of my baby. My beautiful, beautiful baby."
-- Lance Murray
I thought this person was a human being. In the USA ALL human beings are granted equal protection under the 14th amendment. Hate crimes laws create unequal protection by elevating one type of victim over another. Thought crimes are a bad precedent, what thought is next on the list?
This lowlife took a human life, and the law gives that crime its top attention, but convicting him for his motive starts us down a dangerous road, and smacks of double jepardy. In us law a crime needs two things, Mens rea, and actus rea: criminal thought or intent, AND criminal act. the murder has both, the thought crime does not, you can not try the idiot twice for the killing act. It may seem like justice now for the victim, but such special protection status is not going to help the cause for social integration for the people that claim to press for 'equality'. I think that they did a good job of proving Capital murder, (it helps that the killer is not very clever), They should light him up for the killing that he admits to, and save the state from having to support his sorry ass for the next 40 yrs or so. But hate crimes law will not deter people like him, and do a dis-service to all other victims of brutal homicide, but were not lucky enough to be part of a protected minority.
Posted by: Branch | April 23, 2009 at 12:36 PM