[Misc] Is 15 years in jail for burning a pride flag a bit extreme?

[GT49er]

Well, he's committed a few offences there - theft, vandalism, drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace - and possibly a few other minor transgressions. So he could reasonably expect to suffer some consequences - but even if he's got a past reputation for being a bit of a pest and a nuisance fifteen years is bloody ridiculous.

 

[portslade seagull]

Well its America after all. Should have done it here, carrying a knife is a slapped wrist so would've been a £600 fine

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Remember jail over there is a huge money making scheme

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

 

[vegster]

I think he has been given 15 years due to being a "Habitual Offender ", that's not so bad, I thought some US states have a three strikes and you are out regime ? ie, three separate crimes and you get Life

 

[Grombleton]

So the lot that did this should be banged up also.

Hate crime and dicks also

https://youtu.be/2ujNkF-fbQI

That's not really comparable is it? That's hopping onto the slippery slope and suggesting we cancel every bonfire that has an effigy.

 

[BensGrandad]

Perhaps our judiciary should take note and give similar sentences to deter crime but the snowflakes and do gooders would be up in arms

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Perhaps our judiciary should take note and give similar sentences to deter crime but the snowflakes and do gooders would be up in arms

10 years for parking in seaside towns without displaying the correct ticket?

 

[Hastings gull]

10 years for parking in seaside towns without displaying the correct ticket?

Does this post really strike you as sensible?

 

[BensGrandad]

10 years for parking in seaside towns without displaying the correct ticket?

That is not a criminal offense but a false civil claim for money which is being fiercely contested

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Does this post really strike you as sensible?

It was a gentle dig, illustrating that draconian or disproportionate punishments for ANY crime, might actually NOT be to this poster’s taste.

 

[Hastings gull]

It was a gentle dig, illustrating that draconian or disproportionate punishments for ANY crime, might actually NOT be to this poster’s taste.

Yes, I realised it was a dig, as you say, but given that we don't know what went on before and what crimes said person was responsible for, you are not in a position to say that the punishment was draconian.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

A US judge has handed down a sentence of at least 15 years to a man who stole an LGBT pride flag from a church and burned it outside a strip club.
Adolfo Martinez, 30, admitted to the media that he took the flag from Ames United Church of Christ due to his animosity towards homosexuals.
He was found guilty last month of hate crime harassment, reckless use of fire and being a habitual offender.
The incident occurred around midnight on 11 June in downtown Ames, Iowa.
Police say the crime spree began at Dangerous Curves, a strip club, when police were called because a man was making threats. By the time they arrived, he had already been kicked out by bar staff.
After leaving the club, Martinez then travelled to the church and ripped down its flag. He then returned to the strip club where he used lighter fluid to burn the flag in the street. He also threatened to burn down the bar.
He was arrested later that day, and told local media in a jail house interview that he was "guilty as charged".
"It was an honour to do that. It's a blessing from the Lord," he said, explaining that he did it because he "opposed homosexuality".
"I burned down their pride, plain and simple," he told KCCI-TV. The interview was entered into the trial as evidence against him.
Church pastor Eileen Gebbie, who identifies as gay woman, says she agrees that Martinez' actions were motivated by hatred.
"I often experienced Ames as not being as progressive as many people believe it is, and there still is a very large closeted queer community here," she told the Des Moines Register when he was convicted in November.
"But 12 people that I don't know, who have no investment in me or this congregation, said this man committed a crime, and it was a crime borne of bigotry and hatred."
Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said Martinez was the first person in the county's history to be convicted of a hate crime.
"The hard reality is there are people who target individuals and commit crimes against individuals because of their race, gender, sexual orientation," she told the Ames Tribune.
"And when that happens it's so important that as a society we stand up and people have severe consequences for those actions."

No wonder that daft American driver who killed that lad on his bike is shitting her pants and refusing to be extradited. She probably thinks she'll be taken to gallowgate and hanged drawn and quartered.

As for the above, it is what it is

 

[Hampster Gull]

Ridiculous

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Perhaps our judiciary should take note and give similar sentences to deter crime but the snowflakes and do gooders would be up in arms

I agree with your initial sentiment, but not with the slur 'do gooders'. Broflake.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

That's not really comparable is it? That's hopping onto the slippery slope and suggesting we cancel every bonfire that has an effigy.

Old mouldy brains not talking bollocks, out of his arse, again, is he, at all?

 

[shingle]

An outrageous sentence. Anybody who thinks that's fair retribution has completely lost the plot. What do you get out there for burning the stars and stripes, absolutely nothing, and many people find that grossly offensive.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

15 years without a shower. He’s going to stink

 

[shingle]

Should have been 3 months tops. Nobody's got any perspective anymore, shame.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

It’s sort of sentence we used to dole out to kids for stealing bread in Victorian times. Hard to believe they are prepared to fill their jails for this when we let people off for murdering people in their cars.

 

[worthingseagull123]

He committed a hate crime. I think its a valid sentence for acting like a dick. To

Meanwhile over here, rapists and acid attackers get less time.

But I guess hurting peoples feelings is.the worst thing in the world.