Protesting Newsday's coverage of hate crime (Elmont, Alma: violent crime, legal, mall)

[nancy thereader]

oh, I don't have HBO so that's why I hadn't heard of it. Thanks, though.

[azzurrony]

It was a show about gangbangers, drugs, thugs, police, politicians, and the interplay between them in Baltimore's inner city.

I've actually been to some of those nasty areas of Baltimore and let me just say that they make Hempstead look like Rodeo Drive.

[I_Love_LI_but]

For those of you who enjoyed HBO's "The Wire," if you like reading novels, I highly recommend those of George Pelecanos, who was also a producer, writer and story editor for The Wire. His books are set in Washington, DC, and span the time period from the 1940s to present day. He is one of the best crime writers alive today!

[I_Love_LI_but]

Regarding the Patchogue murder, one thing that I find very interesting is that one of the kids involved, Christopher Overton, was also involved in the murder of another immigrant in May 2007! Does this kid wear a t-shirt that says, "If there's going to be trouble, take me along!"?

Some of you probably remember the heartbreaking story of Carlton Shaw, a Jamaican immigrant, who was murdered in a botched home invasion robbery. Carlton Shaw bought a home in East Patchogue and worked 3 jobs to be able to afford it. On his rare time off, he fixed up and maintained the home on the modest block to the point it was one of the nicest houses on the street. The teenagers targeted his house because its condition was so nice that they thought he "must have money." One afternoon Carlton was at home retiling his bathroom while his 3 year old son took a nap. The teenagers got into his house and he caught them and tried to run them off. One of the kids shot him and killed him in his backyard. He was discovered by a neighbor who got a call from his daughter's nursery school that Carlton had not come to pick her up. The neighbor found Carlton on the ground dead and his 3 year old son asleep on Carlton's body. The police tracked down the teenagers and charged them with crimes according to their individual involvement, so Overton, not being the shooter, was only given probation (although now he has violated that term of probation, so he will get a stiffer penalty).

Now I see that with this crime also the teenagers are being sentenced according to their involvement, not according to the result (a killing). All seven teens are charged with first-degree gang assault. Jeffrey Conroy, 17, is also charged with first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime. I THINK THEY SHOULD ALL BE CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER AS A HATE CRIME.

Perhaps if Overton and the rest of the group involved in the burglary and killing of Carlton Shaw in 2007 had all been charged equally, people anticipating committing violent group crimes would think twice. At the very least, Overton wouldn't have been on the street to participate in yet another killing.

When I watch TV shows like A&E's "The First 48," I can't help but notice that in some states people are sentenced ACCORDING TO THE RESULT, not according to who did what. For example, I recently saw an episode in Memphis, TN, where 3 young men went to a tattoo parlor, got tattoos, and then robbed the tattoo parlor and one of them shot and killed the wife of the tattoo parlor's owner.

ALL of the young men, even the one who begged the one with the gun not to shoot the husband, were sentenced equally to capital murder in the first degree. Tennessee even sentenced a young man who WAS NOT EVEN AT THE SCENE to capital murder in the first degree because he lent his car and his gun to the three others! That is the way to do things IMO when dealing with criminals who act as a group instead of letting some of them get lighter sentences.

PS: To be really on topic, no, I do not agree with Newsday's sensationalizing of this story, nor do I agree with activists trying to use it as a stepping stone to harass our politicians into giving a "pass" to illegal aliens. While nobody has the right to murder someone just because they are illegal or of a certain ethnic group, illegal aliens do not deserve to be allowed to act above the law. Especially in this post-9/11 era we need to know WHO is in our country at all times.

PPS: Additional and upgraded charges are: The seven were charged with second-degree attempted assault as a hate crime and second-degree attempted gang assault for accosting Lucero's companion, Angel Loja, and Sierra. Two of the teenagers also face assault charges as a hate crime for shooting another Hispanic man, Marlon Garcia, prosecutors said. Conroy, 17, of Medford, will be arraigned Monday on a charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime - the first time on Long Island someone has faced such a charge - along with the original charge of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime. I THINK ALL OF THEM SHOULD FACE THE SAME CHARGES.

[sickofnyc99]

Agreed. And thank you for responding.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

Regarding the Patchogue murder, one thing that I find very interesting is that one of the kids involved, Christopher Overton, was also involved in the murder of another immigrant in May 2007! Does this kid wear a t-shirt that says, "If there's going to be trouble, take me along!"?

Some of you probably remember the heartbreaking story of Carlton Shaw, a Jamaican immigrant, who was murdered in a botched home invasion robbery. Carlton Shaw bought a home in East Patchogue and worked 3 jobs to be able to afford it. On his rare time off, he fixed up and maintained the home on the modest block to the point it was one of the nicest houses on the street. The teenagers targeted his house because its condition was so nice that they thought he "must have money." One afternoon Carlton was at home retiling his bathroom while his 3 year old son took a nap. The teenagers got into his house and he caught them and tried to run them off. One of the kids shot him and killed him in his backyard. He was discovered by a neighbor who got a call from his daughter's nursery school that Carlton had not come to pick her up. The neighbor found Carlton on the ground dead and his 3 year old son asleep on Carlton's body.

Ugh. Man that is an awful story.

By the way, at least one of the suspects arrested in relation to that crime was African American.

It appears that there is a serious issue with some of the "youths" in Patchogue.

[arangoa79]

Originally Posted by dman72

Ugh. Man that is an awful story.

By the way, at least one of the suspects arrested in relation to that crime was African American.

It appears that there is a serious issue with some of the "youths" in Patchogue.

The issue is their parents. It all starts in the home.

[WIHS2006]

Can we please stop bringing race into this? Who cares that one criminal was Black? Who cares that the victim was an immigrant from Jamaica? Race is meaningless.

This is about the rule of law. Both in regards to immigration status and attacking innocent people. Lucero did not belong here due to his immigration status but he also was a human being and dident deserve to be attacked. Period, end of story. Maybe now I can stop seeing it in Liesday every morning.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by WIHS2006

Can we please stop bringing race into this? Who cares that one criminal was Black? Who cares that the victim was an immigrant from Jamaica? Race is meaningless.

This is about the rule of law. Both in regards to immigration status and attacking innocent people. Lucero did not belong here due to his immigration status but he also was a human being and dident deserve to be attacked. Period, end of story. Maybe now I can stop seeing it in Liesday every morning.

That's the point I've been trying to make all along.

His immigration status is one issue.

Being murdered is another.

For anyone to try to mix the 2 issues for political gain is offensive.

[azzurrony]

Lucero is being used as a martyr to push certain Latino groups agendas for amnesty for illegals. Newsday is feeding right into their plan. It's disgusting that these groups are exploiting this tragedy.