The slayings of Reagan Tokes and Alianna DeFreeze had much in common.
Both were abducted, raped and killed in Ohio in 2017. Tokes was a 21-year-old college student, DeFreeze a 14-year-old seventh grader. Both their killers, previously convicted sex offenders, were subsequently found guilty.
Yet only one victim got a law with her name on it — Tokes, who was white.
That disparity in so-called namesake laws represents a national trend: White crime victims are much more likely to get crime bills named after them than black victims. Full Article
At the Harvest music festival in Las Vegas a shooter opened fire and killed 58 people. Not one has had a law named after them. Seems to be a huge disparity here. There are so many sex offense laws that people charged with a non-contact offense suffer a life of total humiliation and isolation, but I can think of only one law for a shooting victim and that is after a big named politician. So perhaps the real discrimination here is against a certain category of people. It seems to me that any, every, and all offenses even remotely related to human sexuality are lumped together in the same category. Maybe that is where the true prejudice in all this lies.
Kate’s law involved a shooting victim
Lacy and Connor’s law is a result of a murder.
Matthew Shepard Act is a result of a hate crime + murder
Caylee’s Law is a result of a murder
Neither case involved a sex offense. I’m pretty sure there are more, but these are the only high profile ones that came to mind. The first two involved incidents here in the Bay Area.
@ NPS, Yeah, those are some real high profile laws, right up there with international Megan’s Law and Jessica’s law. Not even effective enough to gain standardized background checks. Unlike the SO’s that give blanket lifetime Oppression, intimidation, and banishment for those not even in the same category of offense. And that you brought those to my attention makes it even more infuriating that those laws carry so little weight. How can potential crimes of murder be treated with less concern than somebody who looked at some pictures on the internet that somebody else posted? But thanks for letting me know.
I think one needs to differentiate between laws, victim named laws, that address offenses vs offenders.
I have no problem with laws that result in harsher penalties for OFFENSES. I am not sure that ever-increasing punishment is the way to a better tomorrow, but fine. Next person who re-enters the country after deportation (Kate), kills an 8 month pregnant woman (Lacy / Connor) or doesn’t report a missing child (Caylee) or kills someone solely because of their sexual orientation (Matthew Shepard) is looking at increased charges and punishment for that OFFENSE. Not a problem.
BTW – while this was not @Eric’s question, all of those victims are… white.
Let’s look, however, at victim-named laws that address OFFENDERS – as a consequence of a historic conviction. Those are ONLY found for sex offenses. The big ones, off the top off my head, are the Jacob Wetterling Act, Jimmy Rice Act, Megan’s Law, Jessica’s Law, Adam Walsh Act, Amie Zyla expansion, International Megan’s Law, Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website. White. Every single one.
While there is zero data suggesting that white children are victimized at increased rates over POC.
I deduce…. plain violence / murder does not result in an OFFENDER centric law, but anything remotely sex based does (even when there was no evidence of a sexual component (AWA and Jacob Wetterling). Anything sexual is a big deal when it involves a white child.
I find that strange.
It is not unknown that the USA was not initially inhabited by white people. I am one of them and I am sickened by history. This land was occupied way before white people landed here.
Hhahahahahahahah…
That is to funny. It’s not about safety or anything it’s about having a law named after you. I love the petty ignorance/stupidity.