Posted on 06/25/2015 7:08:40 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Citing unnamed "federal law enforcement officials," The New York Times reports that the Justice Department probably will file federal hate crime charges against Dylann Roof in connection with last week's massacre at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Since Roof already faces nine murder charges in state court, where he will be subject to the death penalty if convicted, an additional federal prosecution seems gratuitous. It does not even offer the prospect of a more severe punishment.
To the contrary, the maximum penalty Roof would face under federal law is life in prison, while there is a distinct possibility that South Carolina will execute him.
The Times concedes that a conviction in state court "would make federal action largely symbolic." Still, federal prosecutors are eager to pursue the case, because what's the point of having a federal hate crime law if you don't use it to prosecute someone like Dylann Roof? "This directly fits the hate crime statute," one of those unidentified law enforcement officials tells the Times. "This is exactly what it was created for."
Was the hate crime statute really created to allow redundant, "largely symbolic" prosecutions of people who have already been sentenced to life in prison or death? Not quite. It has practical functions as well. For instance, it allows the Justice Department to prosecute someone after he is acquitted in state court. Under the Supreme Court's "dual sovereignty" doctrine, that does not count as double jeopardy.
In short, the hate crime statute is a handy tool for grandstanding prosecutors, letting them federalize any violent crime they claim was motivated by bigotry—even when the bigotry pits members of the same religious sect against each other. Officially the law does not punish people for their beliefs, which obviously would be a grave violation of the First Amendment.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
who will be executed first
THE BOSTON BOMBER
THE CONFEDERATE LUNATIC ROOFMAN
THE AURORA LUNATIC
KHALID SHEIK MOHAMMAD / 9-11-01 convicted and fattening up at gitmo
THE FORT HOODIE MUSLIM TERRORIST
ban the confederate flag......ok
and lets ban the koran which incites jiahd....hey makes ABOUT AS much sense doesn’t it
so place your bets... who goes first
A political rallying point for this war on America
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.