He killed a man - THAT is the crime.  It does not matter why he killed the other man.
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CONCORD, N.H. -- A man accused of fatally beating a Laotian neighbor, claiming that "Asians killed my brother and uncle in Vietnam," has been charged with a hate crime, authorities said Monday.

Richard Labbe, 35, was indicted on two counts of second-degree murder in the death of Thung Phetakoune at the apartment complex in Newmarket where they both lived. Police gave the victim's age as 62 but his son said he was in his 70s.

The Rockingham County grand jury indictment charged that racism motivated the July 14 attack.

According to police, Labbe had just gotten an eviction notice and was arguing with another tenant when Phetakoune approached.

[b]"So you like to kill Americans, why don't you try to kill me?"[/b] Labbe's teen-age son told police he heard his father yell.

Labbe told police he pushed Phetakoune after the older man hit him in the face, but the son and other witnesses said Phetakoune never touched him. The victim struck his head as he fell and died two days later.

[b]"Those Asians killed my brother and uncle in Vietnam, call it payback," police say Labbe told them. "If you're not going to do anything about these Asians in my country, then I will."[/b]

Labbe did have an uncle who served in Vietnam, but he returned home unharmed, according to Labbe's father. [b]And Phetakoune was forced from his homeland of Laos in the 1970s because he had fought alongside American soldiers in the Vietnam War.[/b]

Labbe's father blamed alcohol for his son's actions.
Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press
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And then they blame alcohol!!  how about blaming his own stupidity.

Sounds like a hate crime to me. He was a bigot that killed a guy for being Asain.

He sounds like an idiot too. Blaming a former Laotian ally for something that the Vietnamese did and then beating him to death. Number one, he lied about his brother being in Nam and his veteran uncle is still alive. And two, his own son says that he started the fight.

NICE, so he used our fallen heros and loved ones as an excuse for his stupidity and BS.  He should be hung out to dry, by the toes.

The problem with "hate crimes" is they are actually "thought crimes."

If a person steals, charge him for stealing. If a person murders, charge him for murder. If a person commits ANY crime against another person, charge them for that.

But hate crimes make "thought" a crime as well. The last time a modern culture had "thought crimes" was pre war Japan. And it wasn't a fun place to live.

The other problem is precedent. You can now be arrested and prosecuted for "thinking" a certain way. The door is now open, and it is possible to expand upon that. What other kinds of "thinking" can now be criminalized?

All the laws that affect criminals were written long ago. The vast majority of new laws are only carefully worded attempts to get us to legislate away our own freedom. And so far, it's working.

why should it matter more why u did something? Other then the fact you did it.  Does it make the victim any more dead becouse he killed him becouse he was asian?


edited to fix typos

I think that the hate crime laws were added not to control thought but to control actions. You have the Constitutional right to dislike or hate anyone for any reason, even race. You also have the Constitutional right to say or print that you hate certain people or religions.

Acting on that hate is a different story. Many crimes don't carry heavy penalties unless premeditated. That means, if you didn't know the person, you don't get the same sentence as if you had some kind of relations with them. So if you killed a stranger would get less time in prison than if you killed a co-worker or family member. The hate crime statutes add time and penalties to existing laws that ordinarily are mere slaps on the wrists.

The real crime here is the way our Justice Dept tracks, so called hate crimes:

1. If a white man kills a minority it counts as a White on Black crime.
2. If an Asian kills a Black man, it is counted same as #1
3. If a Hispanic kills a Black man, it is counted same as #1
4. If a Black man kills a hispanic or asian, it is counted as a Black on White crime.
5. If a Hispanic kills a hispanic, it is counted as a White on White crime, same for any Asian.


Check for yourself, they do not count Hispanics, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, or any type of Asians in their crime stats, they consider them white because IMHO they do not want to show the stats the way they really come out.

I think SteyrAUG has it right on this one.  

The crime is in the killing, not in the thinking which preceded the act.  Of course he deserves the death penalty, because he MURDERED someone.  While I certainly don't agree with the racist philosphies which appear to have motivated this man, I don't believe he should be punished for his beliefs.  Also, at least in capital cases (cases where the death penalty is the proscribed punishment), there is no further punishment society can inflict, anyway.  If we accept the logic behind "hate crime" legislation, and permit it in our communities, we could very well become targets of it ourselves!  In a not-so distant future, how would you like to receive a stiffer penalty when you are picked up for weapons violations, because you are a "right-wing extremist", as evidenced by your possession of assault-style weapons, patriotic literature, and maybe your neighbor heard you say, "The U.N. sucks, and I think all those commie bastards should die!"???

It's simple. If the penalties for actions are not sever enough....modify them to be harsher.

Action is action. Thought is thought. You don't punish thoughts. If those thoughts result in actions.....then you address the actions. And if someone is getting slaps on the wrist for actions like murder than we got bigger problems that what that person was thinking about.

Think about it...while it's still legal.

I honestly can't believe that some of you don't understand simple logic. A crime is a crime no matter why it was committed.

It's funny hearing some of you sit hear and say "yup, sounds like a hate crime to me!"

When was the last time you were heard saying "yup, that seems like a love crime to me!"

Get real. I've been there first hand and seen how these laws work. Even in the process of defending yourself, you can be charged with a hate crime. Believe me, I've been there. All it takes is the mere accusation that somebody called someone a nigger, and instantly your charged with a felony hate crime. Their word against yours.

Once again, even when outnumbered and defending yourself.

What total b.s., bogus, p.c logic. I'm suprised that some of you are blind enough to fall for it.

There are plenty of crimes committed every day that are perpatrated because of evil, and hatefull intentions. But they are only called hate crimes if the offender is white, and the victim non-white. What a bunch of shit.


I obviously don't get it.  

All crime is a hate crime.  Damn liberals

anybody here read the old Spotlight?

I agree, murder is murder, no matter what color the victim, or the method of killing.

I do think facts such as brutality of the killing or yelling things such as "asians killed my brother and uncle in 'nam" should be used in the trial to assure guilty beyond a reasonable doubt...

Just out of curiosity, if two blacks (or asian, hispanic, etc.) stomp a white man to death yelling "Die Honky!", is that a hate crime?

My guess is no, but I wanted to be sure.

I don't mean to make light of what happened, but I just had to mention the South Park episode "Cartman Commits a Hate Crime", one of my favorites.

In case you don't know, Cartman gets into a snowball fight with the other kids and in the process hits a black student with a snowball.  The FBI finds out and hauls him off to prison.

I am outraged by this. A sentence of life in prison is simply not good enough for this scoundrel. I demand that he be given an additional five to ten years for his motivation.

I'm with STEYRAUG on this one. Murder is murder, whether the perp was yelling racial obcenities at the victim before they killed them is irrelevant. Racial obscenities don't make murder any more or less heinous. Murder it self is pretty friggin heinous. And how can being convicted of murder be considered a slap on the wrist. Yep, the addition of hate crime to an offense is sliding down the slippery slope of Orwelian Big Brother Police State. This is targeting people and how they think instead of focusing on the real crime, thier actions and/or deeds.

The other problem with "hate crimes" is that it makes some victims more equal than others.  Funny.  I see any crime as being pretty much a "hateful" act.

F#$#@ing politicians will do anything to divide us and cause strife.

Are victims any more dead because they were killed for their money or their skin color?

An eye for an eye justice is all these predators are ever going to understand.

[/quote]

Are people really that stupid...

-- GB[/quote] YES!!!