Skinhead gets probation & museum trips for beating Black teenage girls

[Rose Siding]

A judge spared a white man from a prominent family from a prison term today when he sentenced him for beating two black teenagers in what prosecutors called a racially motivated attack.

Instead, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Charles Spurlock gave Josiah Spaulding III to five years probation and 200 hours of community service at the Pine Street Inn or another homeless shelter. Spaulding, according to his sentence, will also have to visit the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill, make a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and remove his tattoos with Nazi symbolism.

Prosecutors had asked that Spaulding, who they described as a "skinhead," be sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in addition to five years of probation for what they called a “vicious attack.” He faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison with a minimum sentence of probation, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office.

.....Spurlock found Spaulding guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, but exonerated him of civil or constitutional rights violations.

The two victims appeared at the sentencing this morning. Maureen Pontes stood next to Stephanie Gemma as she told the court how they were both traumatized by the beatings.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2006/08/accused_skinhea.html?p1=MEWell_Pos4

[ret5hd]

1. so, not just 2 black teenagers...

2 black teenage GIRLS!!!

what a man! :sarcasm:

[acmavm]

2. Strike another blow for truth, justice, and the American way.

:sarcasm:

[brentspeak]

3. Good grief, talk about a lenient sentence

It should be emphasized, though, that Spaulding's Republican family is not some right-wing clan of greedy nutcases; they're exemplary people, essentially liberals. who've contributed a lot to Massachussetts. Eisenhower Republicans, a dying breed. How III ended up as a skinhead is anybody's guess.

[lonestarnot]

5. He should have had to go to the clink for a period, but I think

it is a clever sentence. Judge must have seen a spark of hope for recovery for this person.

[Generic Other]

4. If a kid who carried my family name also sported a swastika tat

I'd probably kill him myself. My name or your tattoo. One goes.

[angstlessk]

6. And yet, paintballs to Pakistan-15 years...Do I see RACISM HERE?

Just askin...

[fishwax]

7. not surprising, I guess, given a wealthy white assailant and

two black female victims that the sentence would be light. :grr:

I hope the guy really does have some potential for turning his life around, and that the community service and the museum trips will actually change his worldview. I also hope the two victims fair much better in a civil suit.

[Lost4words]

8. Not a chance, he will meet like minded gangs in prison.

your quote,
"I hope the guy really does have some potential for turning his life around, and that the community service and the museum trips will actually change his worldview".

The little POS will come out with more hatered and hostility and connections within the skinhead world.
He will have to be tight with the white gang for protection.

The American prison system is not about rehibilitation IMO!

[fishwax]

9. he's not going to prison

or did I misread the article?

I certainly agree that the prison system is not about rehabilitation, though.

[Lost4words]

17. ops! you are correct. Maybe there is a chance for him.

Hatred, I believe, is a self destructive emotion and can feed itself off the hosts humanity.

We are seldom taught to understand ourselves and recognize when things are off kilter, we are not taught coping skills or the basics of human emotions.

We have failed to evolve past the point we are at now, yes science and technology will increase, but until we understand ourselves and how our actions effect everything, we are just moving ever more quickly to an inevitable end. And I cant help but feel that this more than just my opinion.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. I could imagine circumstances under which the sentence was appropriate.

First, let me say that I don't in any way make light of the injuries, both physical and psychological, suffered by the victims. I have treated a lot of people for psychological trauma, including victims of vicious assaults.

Let me also say that I have no doubt that the perpetrator is a rage-consumed young man. I will give you fairly strong odds that he was sexually abused, physically abused, and mercilessly humiliated in his formative years. At least 2 out of the 3, and probably all 3. Nobody gets that vicious without some powerful twisting. I stipulate that regardless of what happened to him in the past, nothing excuses his crimes. However, whatever happened did happen, and you are not going to reduce his potential for reoffending in nasty, violent ways unles you take this past into account. And don't be deceived by the "prominent family" business. Some of the most prominent are among the most pathological. Consider the family that produced the Squatter in the White House.

Now, let me raise this question in the abstract:

Suppose the perpetrator is standing at a fork in the road. He could be sentenced to prison, where he will quickly fall in with a bunch of like-minded neonazi wackos, and in 10 years he will be back on the streets, more rage-filled than ever, and significantly more dangerous.

Or he could be sentenced to a long probation, ordered to make whatever restitution he can to his victims,and put through intensive psychotherapy that can restore him to humanity.

The first path serves the purpose of retribution, feeds people's lust for vengeance, and does decrease (but certainly doesn't eliminate) access to victims while he is in prison. But the ultimate cost is that you end up with a bombshell.

The second path outrages people because it's perceived as too lenient, but it ends up salvaging a lost soul.



Which course is right? I don't know. I don't know the specific circumstances. I don't have the guy's psych eval in hand, and I don't know the details of the sentence.

[Kickoutthejams23]

12. premeditated assault with no contributing factors deserves time.

Anybody guilty of such a crime skinhead or not deserves to go to jail. Period end of story.

[Jackpine Radical]

13. What constitutes a "contributing factor?"

Do you totally discount the work of people like Adrian Raine?

[Kickoutthejams23]

14. Self defense for one.

Emotional distress (Finding your spouse in bed with another). Somebody kicking your cat. etc.


Victim is a Repug :evilgrin:

As for Raine yes I think Criminal acts can be the sign of an underlying mental issue. I just don't feel society needs to give people who commit violent assault a free pass.

[Jackpine Radical]

16. I'm taking more of a harm-reduction stance.

I'm not sure that draconian punishment, and particularly exposure to the festering pathologies of a prison system, result in the best outcome for society.

That said, I also suspect that in this case as in many, the sentencing process was not blind to the stature of the victim's family.

[porphyrian]

11. How can anyone deny the classism of our "justice" system?

If you're rich, you can buy your way out of murder. If you're poor, you get "made an example of."

I guess we're better than other nations because we do have a real trial, but you only get the level of justice you can afford.

[HongKonger]

15. Imagine...

If he were were a black gangbanger from the hood who kicked the shit out of a couple of white chicks.

Lynch.