Hate Crimes Around the United States

According to several news networks, in 2015 a Georgia couple was arrested after parading around a child’s birthday party waving Confederate flags and making racial threats. The couple along with some friends than proceeded to point their shotgun and make death threats to the African American families attending the party. Recently the couple finally had their trial and were found guilty on multiple counts in an Atlanta courtroom. The male, Jose Torres was sentenced to 20 years with 13 of those years spent in prison, while his accomplice Kayla Norton was sentenced to 10 years with 6 years in prison. The other thirteen members of the hate group were said to have been indicted as well.

After police investigated the couple and their social media pages, they discovered that both Torres and Norton were active white supremacists that openly posted about attending rallies as well as being apart of the skinhead’s nation. In addition, the police also found racial comments geared towards African Americans posted on their accounts as well.

The Crime

While one may not consider threats a crime, as it does not physically hurt anyone, it is indeed a very serious allegation. This type of crime can hold charges ranging anywhere from aggravated assault to acts of terrorism depending on the city or state and their laws. People need to realize that acts of racism and other threats are serious crimes that as we can see from this case can get you some serious time in prison, especially if a weapon is involved. In the state of California, one can be charged with criminal threats if an individual is put in fear under penal code 422 PC. This law includes verbal, written and electronic communication forms of terrorist threats. Even if an individual is bluffing, making a death threat or inferring injury may occur to another individual is considered to have specific intent in California.

Hate Crimes in California

Hate crimes in California are in a league of their own when it comes to charging them. They can make a simple felony into something that is almost guaranteed prison. They can even potentially make a state crime into a federal crime depending on which statutes are utilized. These types of crimes are very serious and that is why it is important that we educate the public about them. Education will hopefully make them think twice before doing this in the future. In situations like this committing a crime is just not worth it. Always make sure you think twice, understand what you are about to do and consider all the possible consequences before making a decision like that.

Ozols Law Firm is a criminal defense firm based out of San Diego California. They handle all types of criminal defense cases and are leaders in proving news to national news networks. For more information visit our homepage at Ozols Law Firm.

Ozols Law Firm
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San Diego, CA
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