Dr. Brendan Lantz
CCJ4938 Hate & Bias Crime
19 April 2018
Writing Assignment: Option 1
In recent years following the 9/11 attacks, there have been shocking increases in the number of hate crimes directed at victims perceived as “perpetual foreigners.” Similarly, the current political climate and the reign of Trump have made these hate crimes targeted at immigration communities spike higher and higher each year. According to the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) advocacy group, they have investigated an appalling 207 incidents of hate violence and xenophobia targeting Indians, Muslims, Sikh, Hindu and other minority groups coinciding with the president’s election year; a 34% increase compared to the 157 incidents …show more content…
They also believed that the brutality of the attack exhibited tremendous dehumanization towards the victims group. They alleged that the crime was “premeditated, intended to kill more than one person in a single event, and created a grave risk of death to others” (U.S Department of Justice, 2017). This is true, bearing in mind that Puriton left the bar after harassing the two men and then returned shortly after shooting directly at them, with the intention of killing. He revealed that he was targeting those individuals only and no one else in the restaurant for a certain reason. The offender also opened fire with no regard to the innocent people around injuring Ian Grillot, an innocent bystander. If the two men were not there that day or were not “of color,” the incident would likely have not have occurred. Some say, including neighbors and friends of the offender that Purinton was drunk and his behavior was a result of him recently losing his father in 2015. They say that his behavior is as of late and his drinking has just recently become an issue, however, the death of his father and his erratic behavior could not become an exception to his actions.
Although an indictment is merely an accusation, as of April 12, 2018, Purinton filed a change of plea in federal court and may plead guilty to the two federal hate crime charges with a potential death sentence. His sentencing date is set for May 4th of 2018 and he will likely spend his life in