Archive for criminal law
On the Brink of Hate Crimes Law Protecting the LGBT Community
Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to sign the hate crimes bill (smuggled into an essential military spending measure) that will, at last, extend the reach of protection to those attacked and seriously wounded or killed because of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.
Before I offer an opinion on the measure, it’s worth pausing for [...]
Vigilante Justice, Continued
According to an article on philly.com (which hosts both the Inquirer and the Daily News), vigilante justice is OK with the prosecutors and the police — sometimes. The story details the prosecution of a man who beat another guy who’d allegedly raped his 14-year-old niece. The uncle who did the beating, Antwione Hough, has been [...]
The Hierarchy of Lawlessness
Let’s play a depressing game. Consider these stories, and spot as many cases of lawlessness as you can:
As I wrote about a couple of days ago, a Philadelphia mob attacked and severely beat a rape suspect. The actions were condoned, encouraged, and rewarded by city officials. In this piece, Columbia University Professor Marc Lamont Hill [...]
Vigilante Justice OK in Philadelphia
An eleven-year-old girl was brutally raped here in Philadelphia last week. The details hardly matter to the heinousness of the crime, but surgery was required. When the suspect was cornered by a couple of local guys who identified him from a news report, he was “held” for the police. At least that’s the description that [...]