| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Fred Stone" |
| Date: |
03 May 2007 07:49:29 PM |
| Object: |
Update on the Dreaded Ham Steak of Hate |
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/210466-
3/LewistonAuburn/No_charges_in_ham_incident/
LEWISTON - A student who tossed ham on a school table occupied by Somali
students last month will not be prosecuted by the Attorney General's
Office.
But that decision, announced on Wednesday, will not have any bearing the
school's handling of the incident.
The Lewiston Middle School student who placed the bagged ham has been
suspended, according to Lewiston school officials.
Police who investigated found that no crime had been committed, and
their part of the probe ended shortly after.
"We referred our findings to the Attorney General's Office," police
Chief William Welch said Wednesday night. "And we support their
decision."
From the start, there was debate in the community about whether the
student's actions constituted a hate crime. Muslims consider pork
unclean and offensive.
A 14-year-old Somali boy told the Sun Journal last month that he was
eating at a table with four other Somali students on April 11 when the
ham was thrown on the table. The teen said the ham was in a bag and that
the student who tossed it laughed along with other students who
witnessed the incident.
School officials looked into the matter and doled out their discipline.
Letters were sent to the parents of Middle School students, and the
Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence got involved to help address
the issue.
Ultimately though, it was up to the AG's Office to determine whether the
incident constituted a hate crime.
Had it been deemed as such, further legal action could have been taken
against the student. Typically, when a person is accused of a hate
crime, the AG's Office requests an injunction or restraining order
against the culprit. Violations of an injunction can result in fines and
jail time.
Now that it has been decided the ham incident did not constitute a hate
crime, the student's discipline will end with the school system.
School Superintendent Leon Levesque could not be reached for details
about the suspension Wednesday night. The student blamed in the incident
has not been named.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
"Protests right out of the Vietnam era, and Vietnam analogies used to
determine current foreign policy.
Strange that those who call themselves “progressives” haven’t been able
to progress much since 1968, don’t you think? "
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
.
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