Posted on 01/21/2023 9:59:32 AM PST by grundle
Associated Press recently reported:
US won’t seek death penalty for alleged Texas Walmart gunman
January 18, 2023
Federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for a man accused of fatally shooting nearly two dozen people in a racist attack at a West Texas Walmart in 2019.
The U.S. Department of Justice disclosed the decision not to pursue capital punishment against Patrick Crusius in a one-sentence notice filed Tuesday with the federal court in El Paso.
Crusius, 24, is accused of targeting Mexicans during the Aug. 3 massacre that killed 23 people and left dozens wounded. The Dallas-area native is charged with federal hate crimes and firearms violations, as well as capital murder in state court. He has pleaded not guilty.
Federal prosecutors did not explain in their court filing the reason for their decision, though Crusius still could face the death penalty if convicted in state court.
Crusius surrendered to police after the attack, saying, “I’m the shooter,” and that he was targeting Mexicans, according to an arrest warrant. Prosecutors have said he published a screed online shortly before the shooting that said it was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
I don’t understand the purpose of filing federal hate crime charges if the federal government is not seeking the death penalty.
Since the federal government is not seeking the death penalty, I would prefer that the federal government drop all charges, and let the state of Texas handle this. Texas would definitely seek the death penalty.
For the record, I am against passing hate crimes laws, but I am in favor of enforcing the hate crime laws that are already on the book.
Also, in my opinion, if a person is convicted of first degree murder, and there is video proof, then I support executing that person. This particular crime happened in a place where there are cameras everywhere.
I kind of see the point of ‘hate crime’ laws. I think if the perps target a person because of politics, race, or religion it’s a good thing to increase the sentence. Obviously, anyone committing a crime of violence against another human should really only be subject to either life in solitary or death, but just in case the only charges that they can make stick are less than that, *all* criminals who deprive others of life, liberty, or property need to be put away for a few decades minimum; anything that helps with that is a Good Thing.
There is no need to create fictitious crimes.
The crime of murder is enough to jail him. Making it a hate crime to jail him harder does what exactly?
Capital murder should be the primary charge, not “hate crime” as shown in the article.
He should be put to death for murdering those people.
Murder is a hate crime.
If you kill 23 people will love, that really makes is so much better.
Yes - and determining the actual motivations and intentions of any human being is an uncertain process, that is best left to fortune tellers and clairvoyants...
;^)
Why? Because “hate crimes” are harder to defend against. If this becomes the norm, then it’s much easier to jail “dissidents”.
Rhetorical question: If premeditated murder of 23 innocent people isn’t enough to earn the death penalty, what is? Did the lives of those 23 matter in the eyes of the feds? I guess not.
Also — Isn’t murder a state crime? Hopefully Texas will try him, convict on 23 counts of capital murder, sentence him to death 23 times over, and hang him.
“Bias crime” would be more apt. I can see making it an aggravating circumstance. “Hate crime” is virtue-signaling nonsense.
hate crime laws should be applied to the jotato administration and the demonrats...
There is only racism in hate crime laws because everyone knows they will only be applied to white people.
FBI CI? Disappear him after a few weeks in Federal Prison?
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