Posted on 01/06/2014 4:28:24 PM PST by markomalley
A high school student grabbed a Jewish female classmate, held a lighter to her hair and said out loud, “let’s burn the Jew,” but a Canadian judge concluded that the incident was “not racially motivated.”
The incident between two 15 year old Winnipeg, Canada high school students took place in 2011.
The lawyer for the defendant claimed, essentially, it was the girl’s fault her hair caught on fire.
He said his client grabbed the girl, lit the lighter and made the comments, but her hair caught fire when she pulled away. He also said that referring to the girl as “the Jew” was simply the way people interacted at the school, and the defendant was not the only one who called her that. He referred to his client as “a jerk and a bully,” but said the incident was “impulsive and unplanned.”
The defendant’s therapist claimed the incident was an “impulsive teenage action.”
Winnipeg’s Provincial Court Judge Robert Finlayson, before whom the trial was held, agreed with the defense. While he called the act “totally vulgar and inappropriate,” Finlayson said he was satisfied it was not racially motivated.
Given the judge was unwilling to classify saying “let’s burn the Jew” and then actually grabbing a Jew and burning her hair as anti-Semitic, perhaps he should be praised for also stating that the school culture in which this kind of incident was commonplace was was “unhealthy and dark and there’s no place for it in society.”
The victim claimed the incident “changed her world upside down.” She needed therapy to deal with her fears. She also believes that the people in the school blamed her for making a big deal of the incident.
The now-17 year old defendant was not given any prison time. Instead, the court ordered him to serve 18 months of supervised probation. He also has to seek out counseling, write a letter of apology to the victim and perform 75 hours of community service work, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. In an earlier stage of the prosecution, the defendant pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon.
3. (1) For all purposes of this Act, the prohibited grounds of discrimination are race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered.
Or maybe setting a girl's hair on fire is not a discriminatory practice.
Maybe they should burn the judge. After all, he did say it’s not racism.
Leftists and Muslims are joining forces against God and civilization.
It’s time for judges and juries to punish actions, not motivations. The girl would have been just as burned regardless of the motivation.
Don’t they have a game in Brooklyn called “punch the Jew” or something like that.
I'm guessing a lot of Freepers are.
I would be proud to be one of that family!
So if I go to Winnipeg,go up to a black person,hold a lighter to his hair,and say “Let’s kill the ********”, it’s okay?
I’ll be darned.
.
wow
Judges are not an ethnic group, either. Thanks markomalley.
“It’s time for judges and juries to punish actions, not motivations.”
That’s always been my opinion. Motivation might be a factor to consider in sentencing, but it shouldn’t determine whether some extra charge is filed or not. There’s too much room for private interpretation and abuse in that kind of system.
That guy needs a few tough Yids to pay him an after school visit. Are there no tough Yids in Winnipeg? JDF types, that is. And I am one so I can use the term, so everyone relax.
I think in order to mount the same defense, you’d have to hang out with the guy and call him a ****** for a while first. Then, you could claim it was just a nickname, like this kid’s lawyer did.
The demographics of the perp might explain a little bit.
Never,never,*ever* would I vote guilty on *any* "hate crime" charge.In this case it's clearly a crime to have grabbed the girl.It's also a crime to have held a lighter to her head.Regardless of his motives he had *no* justification for having done so...so,IMO,he deserves very serious punishment.Perhaps a year or more if this his first offense...*much* longer if it isn't.
Was the assailant Moslem?
Or maybe "let's burn the idiot."
Some guys that are talented practitioners of Krav Maga? Yeah, they should pay the punk a visit and make sure the lesson learned is unequivocal and unforgettable.
the girl’s fault her hair caught on fire.
But officer, the punk got in the way of my bullet! If he wouldn’t have been standing there....
Maybe the judge is just a total liberal idiot. Sadly that's an all-too-common reason in the United States.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.