People Are Actually Debating How Long You Should Go To Prison For Terrorizing 8-Year-Olds With Shotguns?

Debate the "harshness" of the sentence. I want a freaking Megan's Law alert when these people get out.

Actual 'harsh sentence'

Actual ‘harsh sentence’

Two racists — Jose “Joe” Torres, and Kayla Norton — crashed an eight-year-old’s birthday party, shouting racial slurs, while waving Confederate flags and a shotgun, a month after Dylann Roof shot up a church in Charleston.

They were tried, convicted, and sentenced to 13 years and 9 years, respectively.

And that should be the end of this post because what more is there to say about bigots who menace little kids because of the color of their skin?

But it’s not. I’ll let NPR explain:

The stiff punishment is being both celebrated and questioned, in a debate that touches on free speech and the nature of terrorism.

Some of those points are summed up in two top-rated responses to the district attorney’s Facebook posting that announced the punishment.

One commenter writes:

“To all the people on here saying the punishment was unjust. Let’s be real, if it had been any other terrorist group committing these felonies you guys wouldn’t bat an eye if they went away for life…. but when the terrorist look like you all of a sudden you get a soft heart.”

But another commenter says:

“Did they actually attack anyone or just guilty of being racists? Not condoning their actions by any means but I’m not sure the punishment fit the crime here. If they attacked the kids or something, let them rot, but just being ignorant racists shouldn’t constitute a 20 year sentence. Does that not seem a little extreme?? What am I missing? If everyone in Douglas County that is ignorant and racist (on both sides of the fence) had to serve 20 years, they’d have to build many new jails.”

Every now and again, the racists should just say “oh, good, glad those bigots were stopped.” You know, just to THROW PEOPLE OFF THEIR SCENT. I’m fat, but even I have a f**king salad from time to time. MAKE A TACTICAL SACRIFICE ONCE IN A WHILE!

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Look, first of all, 13 years for one and nine years for the other is not “too long.” Note, this happened in Georgia. They don’t even have a “hate crimes” statute in Georgia (because, Georgia), so their sentences weren’t enhanced for being disgusting people. They got what they got for making “terroristic threats” and violating the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. Torres was also convicted of aggravated assault, hence his heftier sentence. You don’t actually need hate crimes legislation to put racists in jail, regular old “Don’t F**K With Kids” laws will do just fine.

But the worst, THE WORST, thing these people do is make the goddamn false equivalency: “If everyone in Douglas County that is ignorant and racist (on both sides of the fence) had to serve 20 years, they’d have to build many new jails.”

A: It’s “ignorant and racist” to tell a black reporter to set up a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus like all black people are friends. Crashing an eight-year-old birthday party with shotguns and Confederate flags is straight terror.

B: On the other side of the “fence” are EIGHT-YEAR-OLDS.

C: What kind of messed up county do you live in where they’d have to build all new jails just to house all the people guilty of threatening children with racial slurs and shotguns? If you have that many racist assholes in your county, we need to fence it off and send Snake Plissken in there.

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D: Maybe, maybe if people did have to serve 20 years, they wouldn’t do this crap? And the world would be a better place.

Whatever, Georgia. Debate the “harshness” of the sentence. I want a freaking Megan’s Law alert when these assholes get out.

Racist Assault At A Child’s Birthday Party Yields Long Prison Terms In Georgia [NPR]


Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.