Only one answer to this insanity...
Posted on 07/14/2013 1:19:27 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
A Louisiana prosecutor says he won't pursue hate crime charges against a black man accused of beating a white man and telling the victim he was in "the wrong neighborhood."
The Advocate reports that Donald Ray Dickerson, 41, is charged with assaulting the man at a Baton Rouge gas station in May.
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Friday that he'll prosecute Dickerson as a habitual offender, instead of hate crime charges.
Moore says Dickerson faces a much longer sentence under the habitual offender law and the victim supported his decision.
Under the state's habitual offender law, Moore said a defendant can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole when someone is convicted of four felonies -- at least two of which are crimes of violence.
Dickerson, who had recently been released from federal prison at the time of the attack, has previously been convicted of purse snatching, carnal knowledge of a juvenile and armed robbery.
Online jail records didn't list an attorney's name.
Moore had considered charging Dickerson with a hate crime "enhancement" to second-degree battery because of the racial overtones of the attack. A hate crime conviction in Louisiana enhances a felony sentence by up to five years, but prosecutors say it can be challenging to prove a crime was motivated by a suspect's bias.
Prosecutors have filed charges of second-degree battery against Dickerson in the gas station attack. He also faces a charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The beating happened about 11 p.m. on May 12 at a Chevron station on Scenic Highway in north Baton Rouge.
Dickerson is accused of knocking the white man unconscious after telling him he was "in the wrong neighborhood and he was not going to make it out," according to court filings.
Two other suspects, Devin Bessye, 24, and Ashley Simmons, 22, allegedly struck the man's wife and 14-year-old daughter. Both were issued summonses for simple battery, a misdemeanor.
Provisional Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. has said the officers who decided not to book Bessye and Simmons into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison were counseled for an "error in judgment."
Baton Rouge police Lt. Don Kelly has said officers did not feel there was probable cause for Dickerson to be booked with a hate crime in the attack. Under state law, a hate crime occurs when a person selects a victim "because of actual or perceived race, age, gender, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry ..."
A witness, Mykeisha Henderson, has said the assault began with Dickerson teasing the victim about wearing a pink shirt, but she did not recall hearing any remarks from Dickerson about the white man being in the "wrong neighborhood."
George Orwell
PRES RELEASE - The White House
President Obama asks for calm, saying “Mr. Dickerson could be my son.”
Wait. Never mind.
There are no hate crimes, just reparations.
You can bet a white man attacking a black man in Baton Rouge would be a hate crime.
Despite the obvious double-standard on the hot-button issue of “hate crimes” it is difficult to fault the tactical decision of the prosecutor in this case if he is pursuing the habitual offender sentence.
This is why Americans cannot allow this administration to take away their Second Amendment rights. This government isn’t interested in their safety.
Only one answer to this insanity...
Seems like he could pursue both though. Why is it either or?
Seems like he could pursue both though. Why is it either or?
JUSTICE FOR THE GENERIC WHITE GUY!!!!
Likely because the courts have recognized that hate crimes laws are vile bulldada, so have quietly set up some obstacles to it in the process. Whereas, habitual offender statutes have some real teeth, and are not as subject to legal morass, precisely because they work.
Open season on “crazy-ass cracker”s
So much for “equal justice under law”.
How unfair to bring up the past!
Two other suspects, Devin Bessye, 24, and Ashley Simmons, 22, allegedly struck the man's wife and 14-year-old daughter. Both were issued summonses for simple battery, a misdemeanor.
Provisional Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. has said the officers who decided not to book Bessye and Simmons into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison were counseled for an "error in judgment."
What race/political affiliation were the officers, I wonder.
Well, if (IF) true that he will face a longer sentence as charged, rather than being charged with a hate crime, then I’m OK with it. Plus, regardless of that, I’m sure Prince Eric will launch a civil rights violation investigation, right? Right?
The whole idea of “hate crime” was stupid to begin with.
And I’ll certainly excuse this DA if the penalty will really be longer for being a habitual defender.
Offender.
Now let me give you my LIBERAL brother-in-law's take on the habitual offender condition. He states the only reason the habitual offender condition exists is because lobbyists for private prisons have convinced the legislatures that the condition needs to exist. He argues that because of this condition the sentencing of these felons results in longer sentences and thus more population in the prisons. So it is only to make profit for the private prisons.
And it gets even more bizarre. He claims there are no public prisons, either federal, state, or local, in the United States any more. He claims those bad guys, private corporations have bought all the prisons and are using them to make a profit. So they need as many beds filled as possible, hence lobbyists forcing legislatures to make laws which have lengthy sentences.
So I asked him would you rather have the criminals running loose so the corporations do not make a profit or have them in prison so he could be safe. Instant silence.
That’s good!
How about compiling a stack of papers with all the crimes blacks have perpetrated against other races in the last 5 years and presenting it to Holder, Obama, Sharpton, and Jackson? It would probably be as thick as the NYC phone book.
Louisiana law is a bit different and I have no experience with it. However, prosecutors usually go after the easiest charge to prove with the best sentence and ignore or don’t pursue other charges.
From a cursory review of the facts presented, this could be construed as a hate crime. However, there is little doubt this was a violent assault. Therefore, the prosecutor can embroil himself in a flawed law where hate must be proven or he can simply prove that an assault took place for a much bigger sentence.
Why bother with “could be” and cloud the trial when “he did it” results in a huge sentence? I would bet the “hate crime” would run concurrent to the better charge so there is no benefit beyond a political point and that is not the job of a prosecutor as many of us pointed out in the recent travesty.
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