Posted on 12/29/2004 8:48:06 AM PST by debboo
New York Gang Member Faces Trial as Terrorist
2 hours, 46 minutes ago
By Maria Castro
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every time Lourdes Morales watches the TV news and sees a story on terrorism, she weeps.
Family members have stopped trying to console her, but they, too, cannot understand why Edgar Morales, the family's youngest son, will see the new year arrive in prison where he is waiting to be tried as a terrorist.
"They are comparing my son to (Osama) bin Laden ... and all those people who used bombs and killed thousands of people at random," said Morales.
"They are making him look as if he was this cold-hearted person, and he is not like that."
Morales, 22, was indicted on murder and other charges as acts of terror in May, along with 18 other members of the St. James Boys Gang, a Mexican and Mexican-American street gang.
Morales faces the most serious charge of second-degree murder as a terrorist act. A New York grand jury returned the charges against him in connection with the shooting death of 10-year-old Melanie Mendez, who died from gunshot wounds two years earlier.
Morales plans to plead innocent, said his attorney, Lewis Alperin. No date has yet been set for his trial.
Morales is the first gang member in New York to be indicted under the state's terrorism statute, which became law shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
If the charges did not include the terrorism stipulation, he would face a sentence of 25 years to life if found guilty. With the stipulation, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
PROMOTING TERRORISM?
At least 33 states passed laws amending criminal codes related to acts of terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most changes focused on money laundering, cyberterrorism, agri-terrorism and supporting terrorist groups.
New York's use of the statute to prosecute gang-related crime has sparked disagreement among lawmakers who voted for the legislation.
A spokeswoman for state Sen. Michael Balboni, who sponsored the bill, said he does not mind that prosecutors have decided gang violence is a form of domestic terrorism and are using the statute to prosecute Morales.
"Gangs are a forum to promote terrorism," said Balboni spokeswoman Lisa Angerame. "Therefore, the anti-terrorism statue would be applicable against them, even if the original intent for this law was not exactly to prosecute them."
Others say the law is not being used as intended.
"It is not that I want to defend gangs," said state Rep. Jeffrey Dinowitz. "But it should never be justifiable to use laws with purposes other than their original intent.
"We already have the appropriate laws to prosecute gang members for their crimes," he added.
The anti-terror law passed overwhelmingly in the New York Senate 53-1.
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson, who brought the charges against Morales, said the terrorism stipulation was justified.
"The obvious need for this statue is to protect society against acts of political terror," Johnson said in a statement. "However, the terror perpetrated by gangs, which all too often occurs on the streets of New York, also fits squarely within the scope of this statute."
The 70-count indictment said the gang members conspired to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population."
It included a long list of crimes cited as evidence they terrorized a city neighborhood, including allegations they harassed and robbed customers of a local restaurant, fired guns into a crowded park, shot a teenager in the face and slashed someone's throat.
Some residents say the law is being abused.
"We cannot compare gang violence with big scale terrorist attacks," said resident Miriam Medina.
Local store manager Lidia Chavez added: "Gang violence and terrorism are two different things."
But Eve Santana, owner of a bridal shop, said while maybe not on the scale of bin Laden, "of course they are terrorists."
"They do terrorize neighborhoods. Innocent bystanders die ... and they have to pay."
Yep, serves him right! Gangmembers are domestic terrorists and should be treated/punished as such.
Darn right! Hang 'em high!
Guest worker
"They are making him look as if he was this cold-hearted person, and he is not like that."
Murder is murder. Period.
'Nuff said.
I wonder if 10-year-old Melanie Mendez would agree that "Gang violence and terrorism are two different things"...if she were still alive, that is
The tree hugger nazis should be hit with this law next.
Like the Interstate Commerce Clause.
Congress has used this clause to circumvent the limitations placed on its powers by the Constitution. That body has taken the phrase---“to regulate commerce…among the several States,” and transformed it into the “constitutional” basis for a multitude of federal regulatory schemes for everything from civil rights to gun control. It has also been used to unconstitutionally expand the federal government’s criminal jurisdiction over the people of the several States. In addition, the expansion of federal power through the Commerce Clause has all but nullified the Tenth Amendment
But, as always I can find the cloud behind any silver lining, I see a downside to this. If gangs are now prosecuted as terrorists this may allow the further militarization of the police.
I think there's quite a difference between this and "hate crimes." It sounds like the terrorism statute is based on the nature of the crime itself, while hate crimes statutes punish the offender for his motives in commiting the crime. Although racism is a repugnant sin, it shouldn't be and isn't a crime, and hate crimes laws basically punish you extra for something that isn't a crime to begin with. Whereas, I got the impression from the article that the terrorism law doesn't punish you for your motives but for what you actually did - something that the state has decided goes beyond the scope of just murder. I think punishing gang members like this is a great idea.
Wasn't there a thread here earlier about how drug dealers and gangs have "taken over" Camden New Jersey? Sure sounds like they could use this application.
In my view, that state of affairs certainly qualifies as terrorism...
"Local store manager Lidia Chavez added: "Gang violence and terrorism are two different things." "
I disagree. I think they're exactly the same thing.
RICO updated for the modern gang element.... something sort of comforting about that.
"Terrorism" = Crimes Against the State. Scary.
The violent acts of terrorism are already covered by existing law. Even RICO plays against terrorists, but we knee-jerk emotional reactionaries want new laws, as thought we believe laws alone will protect us such that any level of terrorism must mean we didn't have the right laws in the first place.
You darn right! We ALL should!
Just doing the killing that Americans no longer want to do.
At what point will any person accused of a crime be prosecuted as a terrorist...?
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.