W
hen several teens in North Florida got arrested last month for beating to death a homeless man who was asleep in the woods they were asked the question, why did they do it? Their response was, “we killed him for fun.” How many parents would imagine that their offspring would take the life of another for fun, or even worse take the life of someone that was already down on their luck? When most kids are playing in sports, dating, starting a new job or trying to study real hard for college these kids just did what they wanted to do for fun. Was it a classic hate crime on the poor, was it just an evil act or was it an
T
he term “hate crime” generally conjures up images of cross burnings and lynchings, swastikas on Jewish synagogues, and horrific murders of gays and lesbians. In 1968, the U.S. Congress defined a hate crime, under federal law, as a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of their race, color or national origin (Title 18 U.S.C Section 245). The law mandated that the government must prove both that the crime occurred because of a vic-
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incident where the kids were playing at first and things got out of hand and it went too far? I would hope to think that it was a slight prank and then it just got out of hand. Even so, if that was the case, how or why would these kids just 14 and 18 years of age not be hitting a baseball instead of hitting a person who was down on their luck? Everyone has some sort of anger, some take their anger out and hit a wall, some take their anger to God, some take their anger to a doctor for medication, and some take their anger even further. As we look through these hate crimes on the poor we (Continued on page 5)
tim’s membership in a designated group and because the victim was engaged in certain specified federally-protected activities — such as serving on a jury, voting, or attending public school. Hate crimes are commonly called bias-motivated crimes, referring to the prejudice or partiality of the perpetrator against the victim’s real or perceived grouping or circumstance. Most hate crimes are committed not by organized hate groups, but by individual citizens who harbor a strong resentment against a certain group of people. Some are “mission offenders,” who believe they are on a mission “to cleanse the world of a particular evil”. Others are “scapegoat offenders,” who project their resentment toward the growing economic power of a particular racial or ethnic group through violent actions. Still others are “thrill seekers” — those who take advantage of a vulnerable and disadvantaged group in order to (Continued on page 5)
Number of offenders
Ages of Accused / Convicted vs. Ages of Victims 30 20 10 0 12 16- 20- 24- 28- 32- 35- 39- 42- 46- 51- 55- 59- 64-15 19 23 27 31 35 38 41 45 50 54 58 63 67 Age groups
Accused/Convicted
Victims
Judge says case was `capricious'
A
B r o w a r d County Circuit Court judge ruled on Friday that a homeless shelter on Federal Highway does not violate city codes and can stay. Judge Victor Tobin called the city's efforts to force the Sean Cononie-run shelter to move to an industrial area "arbitrary and capricious." City Attorney Dan Abbott said he was disappointed by the ruling and would appeal if a majority of the commissioners decided to. Cononie, who operates the facility at 1203 N. Federal Highway and four other shelters in Broward, did not gloat over his victory. "Although we won, I'd be willing to sit down and talk with the city at any given time," he said. "They are trying to redo this whole corridor and I understand that. I don't want to throw off development or interfere with people's property values, but ... the city has used malicious prosecution tactics against me and they have been for years." The city had argued Cononie and his nonprofit Cosac Foundation were performing medical, mental health and other services in violation of zoning laws but admitted that if the shelter simply operated as a hotel, it could stay open. (Continued on page 7)
Most Americans are “Two Paychecks” away from being homeless. Help the shelter stay alive. We are trying to pay the mortgage off! To help, please send a check or money order to: COSAC Foundation Burn That Mortgage Campaign P.O. Box 292-577 Davie, Fl 33329
