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For Bruce J. eco-terrorists arrested
In article ,
"Brenda Ann" wrote: "Telamon" wrote in message .com... In article .com, "bpnjensen" wrote: Thanks for the story. I do not support the types of actions we read about in the article, which are needlessly destructive and have potential to harm living things. While I sympathize with their motives, their actions are wrong and, frankly, do not serve their causes well. I will also say that simple property destruction does not automatically "terror" make. Expensive and needless vandalism, perhaps - but application of the "terror" moniker for many things - like knocking over a transmission tower - is hyperbole. Starting fires or bombing is borderline, however, and certainly unwarranted. Sometimes what starts out as "simple property destruction" ends up injuring or killing people. Knock over a transmission tower and you end up with live wires on the ground that can kill people. A vacant building may have someone like a homeless transient in it for example. Starting a fire could kill someone in the "empty" building. A fireman showing up to fight the fire could get killed. The fire company showing up to fight the deliberately set fire would not be able to attend to another accidental fire that threatens people. A rule of life is that if you initiate an action of violence it is then out of your control and sometimes takes on a life of its own. Destroying peoples property has consequences intended and otherwise the least of which is physiological and that my friend is terror. We have laws on the books for people that start fires. They're call arsonists, and the crime is called arson. We have laws on the books for people that kill people. They're called murderers, and the crime is called murder. Murder when combined with the commission of another felony, such as arson, can be charged as first degree murder, a capital crime, in most states. One could stretch and call any arson or any murder a terrorist act.. but I don't believe that to be logical, lest we call every crime a terrorist act. I also disagree with calling any crime a hate crime. It's a crime, there are laws on the books to cover it. Period. To call it a hate crime or a terrorist crime gives more credit to the perpetrator and less to the victim in every case. To call something a hate crime is to marginalize the victim as someone worthy of someone's hate.. but I digress. I don't want to continue an off topic thread but I was addressing the contention that just because the "intent" was to destroy property and not life or limb it could turn out that way due to the destructive force unleashed. You put a force in motion and there is the law of unintended consequences to contend with. Think about it, now many times does something work out exactly the way you envisioned it? As for "lest we call every crime a terrorist act" the intent or state of mind of a perpetrator in criminal law is well established as to the extent of charges brought against an individual and the penalty paid for an offense. If it could be proved that the offense was intended to strike fear in a a racial group or society in general as a terrorist act that would carry additional penalties over the crime committed as another offense. This can manifest as a degree, level or enhancement in the penalty phase of adjudicating a case. -- Telamon Ventura, California |
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