Editor,
Violent bias crimes of opportunistic predation targeting tiny and hence vulnerable minorities are being defended by pointing to this or that mental illness as having already victimized the perpetrator. Even prosecutors have been suspiciously lax on this count, not to mention mayors who have been known to say that it was just an isolated act of a mentally ill person, implying wrongly that the act was not an extreme expression of pervasive bigotry by the larger populace toward this minority, and thereby absolving society as a whole of liability, with these elected officials having little to lose where said minority cannot vote or hardly votes at all.
Where is this kind of condoning headed? All hate criminals, even mass murderers, to be automatically deemed not guilty by reason of insanity?
Sincerely,
Arun Anand Ahuja
UNM student
