Hanging ourselves Proposal to ban images of nooses won’t do anything to end hate crimes BY DANIEL T. WEAVER For The Sunday Gazette
Currently, it is not a crime in New York to display a hangman’s noose, but proposed legislation, already passed in the Senate, seeks to make it one. The proposed law states that a person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the first degree if he or she “Etches, paints, draws upon or otherwise places or displays a noose . . . on any building . . . without express permission of the owner . . . of such building.” Such a display will not be considered a crime unless it is done with the “intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person because of a belief or perception regarding such person’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation . . .” Theoretically, a person could still legally protest against Al Sharpton by hanging him in effigy, but I wouldn’t count on not getting arrested for doing so. If the above proposal is made law, it most likely will withstand any constitutional challenge. In 2003, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Virginia vs. Black that “a State, consistent with the First Amendment, may ban cross burning carried out with the intent to intimidate.” It’s not difficult to see that placing a noose on a black professor’s door is not much different than burning a cross on her lawn. NOT NEW New York’s proposed law is not actually a new law. Rather it is an amendment to Penal Law 240.31 that already bans the display of swastikas and cross burnings, if done with the intent to intimidate. This law, along with many others, is part of the New York State Hate Crimes Act of 2000, an act which primarily adds prison time to crimes in which the victim is targeted because of race, color etc. For example, Caleb Lussier pleaded guilty on Oct. 29 to torching a church in Warren County. He burned it because he did not believe the parishioners were following the teachings of the Bible. Since his action was a hate crime, he will serve a longer term than the typical arsonist. Even though the proposed amendment to the Penal Law appears constitutional, I have many concerns with New York’s everexpanding catalog of hate crimes. First, the potential for expanding the law to prohibit actual speech is very real. This has already happened in Europe. It is a crime to deny the Holocaust in Austria, to publicly use racial slurs in the United Kingdom and to insult a person publicly because of “race, color, national or ethnic origin or sexual inclination” in Denmark. Similar laws have been proposed in the United States. PROBLEM PUNISHMENTS Another problem with New York’s hate crimes is the corresponding punishments. A person found guilty of hanging a noose in a co-worker’s locker with the intent to harass, for example, will be sentenced to two to three years in prison. Prison is most appropriate for crimes like arson and murder, whether or not bias was the motivation, but not for displaying a noose with the intent to intimidate. There are already too many people incarcerated in the United States, creating a huge financial burden. According to the International Centre for Prison Studies located at King’s College in London (www.prisonstudies.org), the United States leads the world in number of people incarcerated per 100,000. While New York’s prison rate is lower than some states, its annual cost per prisoner is third highest at $42,202. New York’s hate crime legislation has put more people in prison for longer periods of time at great expense to taxpayers. But what are we getting in return? Does it make us safer? Do extra years added to a murder or arson sentence do anything to eliminate hate and prejudice? If we have failed to teach tolerance in the classroom, do we think it can be learned in prison? Violations of Penal Law 240.31 cry out for alternatives to incarceration, particularly for first-time offenders. Fines, with some of the money going to prime victims, probation and educational courses in which the perpetrator has to confront, through film, books and other means, the horrific legacy of hate would likely do more good than prison. LEGAL ANOMALIES The New York State Hate Crimes Act has also created several anomalies. For example, if you burn down your ex-girlfriend’s house, even though motivated by intense hatred, you cannot be charged with a hate crime and will do less time than Caleb Lussier. All rapes are potentially hate crimes, since rapists generally target only one gender, but few rapists have been charged with hate crimes. A pedophile cannot be charged with a hate crime, even though he targets children, because the Hate Crimes Act specifically defines “age” as 60 years or older. Groups that hate Catholics have disrupted worship services on several occasions but no state legislator has proposed that the disruption of worship services be made a hate crime. I feel deeply for people who have had a cross burned on their property or a swastika painted on their synagogue. Unfortunately, we have no proof that hate crimes legislation has, or will do anything, to stop biased thought or behavior. Indeed, because our approach to hate crimes is exclusively punitive, it may well create a rebound effect and at some time in the future the noose we are banning today will come back and hang us all.
If the rope is too long, the inmate could be decapitated, and if it is too short, the strangulation could take as long as 45 minutes. The rope, which should be 3/4-inch to 1 1/4-inch in diameter, must be boiled and stretched to eliminate spring or coiling. The knot should be lubricated with wax or soap "to ensure a smooth sliding action," according to the 1969 U.S. Army manual. (The Corrections Professional, 1996 and Hillman, 1992)
The noose is placed around the neck, with the knot behind the left ear. The execution takes place when a trap-door is opened and the prisoner falls through. The prisoner's weight should cause a rapid fracture-dislocation of the neck. However, instantaneous death rarely occurs. (Weisberg, 1991)
If the inmate has strong neck muscles, is very light, if the 'drop' is too short, or the noose has been wrongly positioned, the fracture-dislocation is not rapid and death results from slow asphyxiation. If this occurs the face becomes engorged, the tongue protrudes, the eyes pop, the body defecates, and violent movements of the limbs occur. (The Corrections Professional, 1996 and Weisberg, 1991
This the " sanitary " method of hanging- which is NOT the method we are referring to. If anyone in my family was UNJUSTLY killed this way I would want legislation to ban rope- I did not post the photgraphs-
Well, somebody, first this article is about 'drawing' a noose, such as with graffiti. This article is saying that if used, it could be considered a hate crime. Which I think is rediculous. Not to mention, what if someone wants to use it when playing a game of 'hangman'?
But thanks for the mental graphics. I think it was a little too much information for me!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Im not sure where the Swastika fits in here- I mean it is only some lines on paper. You cant even do anything with it. I dont think it is or should be banned either.
Noose, Offensive Note Found at Baltimore Fire Station Wednesday, November 21, 2007
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore City Fire Department is investigating the discovery of a noose at a city fire station.
Fire officials say the noose was found with an offensive note about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at the station at Kirk Avenue and 25th Street. The discovery was made by two paramedics, one white and one black.
Because the incident could potentially be a hate crime, the city police were contacted and are also investigating.
In a written statement, Mayor Sheila Dixon said she was outraged by what she called a "deplorable act of hatred and intimidation."
The Baltimore city chapter of the NAACP scheduled a news conference for later in the day.
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