This happened six and a half years ago but I just found out about it and think it's kind of outrageous. Man gets 12 months for a noose Posted: November 5, 2010 MONROE, La. - United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez announced today that Robert Jackson, 37, of Ruston, Louisiana, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for placing a hangman's noose under the carport of the home of a Honduran immigrant who moved to Ruston from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Jackson was also sentenced to one year of supervised release upon his release from prison and ordered to attend anger management and culture diversity programs. He was charged with "violating the Fair Housing Act by intimidating and interfering with another’s housing rights because of race". The link to the original article no longer works but there are some sources here: https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/ne.../no062410c.htm https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/ne.../no110510a.htm First I have some questions about whether this is even Constitutionally appropriate. Isn't the state supposed to handle these type of matters? So why is a federal court prosecuting him for what is basically a domestic dispute? It's not like this man even "broke and entered" either, he just stepped onto his neighbor's property and tied a little piece of rope under an open car shelter. Seems more like the federal government trying to go after people for racism.
IMO, it isn't. Correct, in accordance with the 10th Amendment. Because the (in)justice industry is hugely profitable and the feds want a piece of the action. The sentence is also far in excess of the "crime". Although one could make a case that it was a death threat, racist and caused psychological harm, at the end of the day no one was physically harmed. The sentence (as a first time offense) should not have exceeded 30 days. The (in)justice system does not have over 2.3 million people (more than any other nation on the planet, including China) behind bars and another 7+ million in the system (parole and probation) for no reason. It's all about $$$$$, not justice.
a related story: A University of Illinois student was charged with a hate crime on Tuesday for allegedly placing a noose in a campus residence hall. Andrew Smith, a 19-year-old sophomore, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and committing a hate crime, which is a felony, after students found a noose hanging inside an elevator over the weekend, according to university police. https://abcnews.go.com/US/illinois-...ed-hate-crime-placing-noose/story?id=65371709 (September 3, 2019 )
