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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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Hate Crime Dropped - News Gazette Silent and Community Unaware |
Current rating: 0 |
by chico
(No verified email address) |
07 Aug 2005
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Last April, two young Champaign residents forcibly entered a home in West Urbana and allegedly hit the resident with a bat while yelling at him about his sexual orientation.
The perpetrators were Richard Rockwell, 22, and Christine Marshall, 21, and the location of the crime was the 500 block of West Elm Street, according to court records.
Last Friday criminal charges of a hate crime and home invasion were dismissed in return for their guilty plea of trespassing.
Last Saturday the News-Gazette ran a tiny three inch article at the bottom of the third page with the headline 2 RECEIVE PROBATION IN TRESPASSING CASE. It is signed by the News Gazette rather than a staff writer meaning they didn't assign a writer in investigate. Why did they highlight this a "trespassing case" and not a hate crime case? I was unable to find any article about this crime in the News-Gazette in April. Why did such a serious crime not warrant a story? |
The two received two years probation and ordered to have no contact with the man. They were also sentenced to 101 days in the county jail with credit for time served. Marshall has a prior conviction for obstructing justice. Rockwell has prior convictions for misdemeanor battery and theft.
I read the crime report every day. It is rare that someone with a prior record of violence and who is accused of a serious criminal charge, would be allowed to plea bargain out of a prison sentence.
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