Pretty strange case here - family is notified while on vacation that their house is on fire, they come back home, and law enforcement informs them someone prominently spraypainted a racial slur on their pool wall. This is noteworthy because the family is an interracial couple - the husband is a US Army veteran.
https://www.actionnews5.com/2021/11/22/ ... pool-wall/
Tennessee doesn't have a hate crime statute, so investigation will be tricky. TBI will presumably coordinate with the feds?
Mays, a two-tour Army vet, is in an interracial marriage and is in shock that something potentially racially motivated could be the cause of him losing everything.
“It’s been a living hell, and to accumulate to this, I don’t know what to say, man,” he said.
TBI states it believes the house fire is suspicious and is leading an investigation at the request of District Attorney General Mark Davidson.
Very disturbing if what appears possible here went down. I really don't understand this kind of backward thinking.
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- casinterest
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Re: Army Veteran's House in Tennessee Burned Down - Possible Hate Crime
Here's to hoping a doorbell camera caught something or someone in the neighborhood that night.
Terrible tragedy and it could definitely be a hate crime.
Tennessee does have hate crime laws on the books.
https://chattanoogalaw.org/pages/info-hate
Terrible tragedy and it could definitely be a hate crime.
Tennessee does have hate crime laws on the books.
https://chattanoogalaw.org/pages/info-hate
Finally, in 2008 Tennessee passed a comprehensive piece of hate crime legislation that more closely resembles federal hate crimes laws. The 2008 law says that defendants can have their sentences enhanced in cases where the victim is vulnerable due to age or physical or mental disability. The law goes even further and says that defendants will also receive an enhanced sentence if it can be determined that the victim was intentionally selected due to their race,religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry or gender.
Re: Army Veteran's House in Tennessee Burned Down - Possible Hate Crime
casinterest wrote:Here's to hoping a doorbell camera caught something or someone in the neighborhood that night.
Terrible tragedy and it could definitely be a hate crime.
Tennessee does have hate crime laws on the books.
https://chattanoogalaw.org/pages/info-hateFinally, in 2008 Tennessee passed a comprehensive piece of hate crime legislation that more closely resembles federal hate crimes laws. The 2008 law says that defendants can have their sentences enhanced in cases where the victim is vulnerable due to age or physical or mental disability. The law goes even further and says that defendants will also receive an enhanced sentence if it can be determined that the victim was intentionally selected due to their race,religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry or gender.
That's odd - since the last part of the article said the following:
Action News 5 asked TBI if the fire is being investigated as a possible arson and/or hate crime, but TBI spokesperson Keli McAlister told us, “Any questions regarding a hate crime might be best answered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as no state statute addresses such a crime.”
When we reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Memphis on how hate crimes are prosecuted in Tennessee, a spokesperson said, “we have no comment.”
Re: Army Veteran's House in Tennessee Burned Down - Possible Hate Crime
Interesting indeed.
On a side note I never knew that people not from MO went to Branson for vacation, it was always the butt end of a joke of going on a trip to Branson back when I was in STL.
On a side note I never knew that people not from MO went to Branson for vacation, it was always the butt end of a joke of going on a trip to Branson back when I was in STL.
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- CaptHadley
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Re: Army Veteran's House in Tennessee Burned Down - Possible Hate Crime
Eh, sounds fishy. You watch, it'll come to be that they did it.
Re: Army Veteran's House in Tennessee Burned Down - Possible Hate Crime
Here's a summary of the Tennessee statutes related to this, courtesy of TBI:
https://www.jrsa.org/pubs/sac-digest/vo ... e-2019.pdf (see page 6)
Tennessee Code Ann. 40-35-114 is the law that enhances criminal sentences in hate-crime situations.
https://www.jrsa.org/pubs/sac-digest/vo ... e-2019.pdf (see page 6)
Tennessee Code Ann. 40-35-114 is the law that enhances criminal sentences in hate-crime situations.