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Iowa man who sets LGBTQ flag on fire gets over 15 years in prison

SDET

SDET

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What would he have gotten if he had stole a flag from the American Legion and burnt it? Something is out of kilter here.

Iowa man who sets LGBTQ flag on fire gets over 15 years in prison | Fox News

Adolfo Martinez, 30, was found guilty last month of a hate crime, third-degree harassment and reckless use of fire, the Des Moines Register reported.

Martinez stole an LGBTQ flag hanging from the United Church of Christ in Ames – about 35 miles north of Des Moines – and set it on fire outside a strip club on June 11, police said.
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15 years?!? That's harsh. So what part made it a hate crime...as opposed to just theft and reckless use of fire to burn a flag?
 
Actually read the story.
 
calamity said:
He did a little more than steal a flag and burn it. Maybe you should read the article.
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I just did, it literally says the police said he stole a flag and set it on fire.....what do you see that makes that worth 15 years?
 
SDET said:
What would he have gotten if he had stole a flag from the American Legion and burnt it? Something is out of kilter here.

Iowa man who sets LGBTQ flag on fire gets over 15 years in prison | Fox News
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Martinez stole property, net worth $17.95. Apparently he disposed of it, as someone might dispose as combustible throw-always in their backard (burning).

In a sane world protected with the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Constitution protecting all regardless of their political opinion of others, this amounts to a petty theft, and a ticket for an illegal burn. A misdemeanor of community service and small fine, at worst.

The travesty is, of course, that is another example of an out of control judicial and criminal justice system that punishes people for political reasons; the smallest transgression against a sacred cause requires a legal excuse to incarcerate for 15 years by the savage power mad judge.

This is the "new America" - punitive and unjust, shredding the constitution and mocking the oldest legal principle of the punishment fitting the offense.
 
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maxparrish said:
Martinez stole property, net worth $17.95. Apparently he disposed of it, as someone might dispose as combustible throw-always in their backard (burning).

In a sane world protected with the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Constitution protecting all regardless of their political opinion of others, this amounts to a petty theft, and a ticket for an illegal burn. A misdemeanor of community service and small fine, at worst.

The travesty is, of course, that is another example of an out of control judicial and criminal justice system that punishes people for political reasons; the smallest transgression against a sacred cause requires a legal excuse to incarcerate for 15 years by the savage power mad judge.

This is the "new America" - punitive and unjust, shredding the constitution and mocking the oldest legal principle of the punishment fitting the offense.
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hate crime verdict
 
sjmay said:
Got it, the OP article did not mention arson, it said hate crime, something else and reckless fire etc, your article specified arson as a hate crime.
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OP is known for misdirecting.
 
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While he will be more than likely out far sooner than 15 years, this is just too harsh of a sentence. There are child molesters and murderers who get far less. Judges need to focus less on 'setting examples.' This ridiculousness is why Blago is still in prison.
 
calamity said:
He did a little more than steal a flag and burn it. Maybe you should read the article.
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I read your link. It didn't mention more than stealing the flag and burning it. A fine seems enough punishment.
 
I don't agree with the sentence, but I see the logic of how they arrived at the verdict. If he was just disposing of property, that's one thing, but if he was making a political statement, then that could definitely be interpreted as a hate crime. Hate crimes are acts used to target and terrorize specific marginalized communities. I know LGBT people who would experience psychological hardship if they saw someone burning the flag like that.

These communities have been terrorized long enough and these yahoos should keep a lid on it. Again, I don't agree with the sentencing... 15 years is ridiculous, but that's the prison-industrial complex for you. Now they have one more slave to do labor for the township.
 
sjmay said:
I just did, it literally says the police said he stole a flag and set it on fire.....what do you see that makes that worth 15 years?
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I suspect it was the location, where he endangered many people in the strip club. The original article the fox news site linked to also said that sentencing guidelines permitted a longer sentence because of 'habitual offender.' In other words, he kept on doing thing like that, and just didn't learn.
 
Northern Light said:
I don't agree with the sentence, but I see the logic of how they arrived at the verdict. If he was just disposing of property, that's one thing, but if he was making a political statement, then that could definitely be interpreted as a hate crime. Hate crimes are acts used to target and terrorize specific marginalized communities. I know LGBT people who would experience psychological hardship if they saw someone burning the flag like that.

These communities have been terrorized long enough and these yahoos should keep a lid on it. Again, I don't agree with the sentencing... 15 years is ridiculous, but that's the prison-industrial complex for you. Now they have one more slave to do labor for the township.
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While what this man did was stupid and hateful and deserving of some sort of punishment, anyone who would suffer from psychological hardship due to seeing someone else burn a flag has some underlying issues and need to grow some thicker skin.
 
maxparrish said:
Martinez stole property, net worth $17.95. Apparently he disposed of it, as someone might dispose as combustible throw-always in their backard (burning).

In a sane world protected with the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Constitution protecting all regardless of their political opinion of others, this amounts to a petty theft, and a ticket for an illegal burn. A misdemeanor of community service and small fine, at worst.

The travesty is, of course, that is another example of an out of control judicial and criminal justice system that punishes people for political reasons; the smallest transgression against a sacred cause requires a legal excuse to incarcerate for 15 years by the savage power mad judge.

This is the "new America" - punitive and unjust, shredding the constitution and mocking the oldest legal principle of the punishment fitting the offense.
Click to expand...

If people researched this guy instead of offering up such strong opinions while shooting from the hip, then they would already know that he's a repeat felony offender.

I believe that he got exactly what he deserved.

A 15-Year Sentence for Burning a Stolen Gay Pride Flag Is Not Justice – Reason.com
 
Hari Seldon said:
I agree its too harsh a sentence. Like getting 15 years for smoking pot on multiple occasions.
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I read it. There's almost no information there, certainly not enough to know if the sentence was fair or not. It could be a very fair sentence, but FOX News is omitting information to skew opinion, it's what they are know for.
 
RetiredUSN said:
If people researched this guy instead of offering up such strong opinions while shooting from the hip, then they would already know that he's a repeat felony offender.

I believe that he got exactly what he deserved.

A 15-Year Sentence for Burning a Stolen Gay Pride Flag Is Not Justice – Reason.com
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That's what I was wondering: Is FOX News omitting information to skew opinion, it's what they do after all. The answer appears to be a definite "Yes." More information to come?
 
JustHanging said:
That's what I was wondering: Is FOX News omitting information to skew opinion, it's what they do after all. The answer appears to be a definite "Yes." More information to come?
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I think it was omitted.

Think about it for second. The media has access to information at a second's notice that you and I have to wait on for days.
 
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