Will the Alabama church arsonists be tried as terrorists?

[fishnfla]

The greater question being: is what they did considered a terrorist act?

I am asking as a point of information/discussion only, considering Patriot Act definitions.

That one kid in Oregon got 22 years for torching 3 SUV's, labelled as a terrorist

[MadMaddie]

1. This is a valid discussion question...

Because if they are not tried as terrorist then the whole hypocrocy of the laws will be unveiled...the law is used indiscriminately there are so many holes in it and yet it was approved again.....

If they were black college students, gays, liberals then it's okay to call them terrorist..

The repugs will say they were kids being kids, they will find a way to justify this...

Tweety claimed it was "Gays" who did the torching....you won't hear any apology from him...

[fishnfla]

10. Yes thats what I'm getting at

Universal application of the laws.....and the flaws that may be within the PA

[China_cat]

21. Hell, you've got people here at DU claiming

that they were just kids playing pranks because they burned the churches at night and nobody got hurt.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x613527

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Probably will depend upon their politics

If they are conservatives, it will be "boys will be boys", and not treated as a terrorist act. But if they had a bumper sticker on the van that advertised a liberal radio station, they'll be considered terrorists. (This is referring to a woman in CA who was summarily fired from her job because of a KLSD sticker-her boss said that if she listened to left-wing radio, she could be al Qaeda.)

[fishnfla]

8. politics

conservatives are always playing the Bible card. You'd think they would want to throw the book at church burners.

[Webster Green]

3. Oh, that was just a prank...

Heh, heh. Boys will be boys, after all.

Weren't a couple of the lads from a fundie college?

[edbermac]

6. LOL...I hope they'll be laughing their asses off in prison...

[MADem]

11. Yeah, good ole boys, never meanin' no harm, that's all!!!

Them terrists come in a different complexion or religious affiliation than those guys...:sarcasm:

[Selatius]

4. It depends on intent. These idiots did it for the thrill, they say.

A terrorist would've had a political motive such as race or ideology as the primary motivator. An adrenaline rush isn't included. If that Oregon kid you mentioned did it because he was a believer in tactics advocated, for instance, by the Earth Liberation Front, then yeah, he is a terrorist, but if he did it just because he felt like being stupid in torching SUVs, then it's just arson, not terrorism, and if he was convicted as a terrorist if the latter is true, then that was a wrongful conviction.

[fishnfla]

7. Does intent matter to the victims or the public?

Goes to the definition of terrorism, I'd guess. The acts, no matter the reason, instilled a sense of fear, no?

[Selatius]

9. Intent matters with application of laws dealing with terrorism.

A bank robbery instills as much fear in people in the immediate vacinity as a plane slamming into the side of an office tower would. They're both violent acts against other people; that's true, but the intent is different, but society seems fine with the enactment of laws dealing with terrorism as a result of political/religious motivation. In the end, the question remains: "What difference does it make to the victims how or why they were killed?"

[fishnfla]

12. Thanks for the reply

goes to motive then. They started out as a lark, but then conspired to cover-up their tracks by making it look like like a serial arsonist was targeting churches. The second round of church bombings were not meant as a joke

[MadMaddie]

14. That's a great point about the second round of fires!!

[fishnfla]

15. Yeah its almost like the Anthrax mailer

trying to make it look like terrorism, or cover his crime that way

[MADem]

13. Gee, the 20th hijacker could just claim he was a thrillseeker, then!

"No, no, no...you MISUNDERSTAND ME!! I care not for politics or religion, I just wanted an E-ticket to Paradise!!!!"

[sinkingfeeling]

20. I'm still checking about 'intent' with terrorism, but with arson, it's a

different story.

"Arson is a crime of general intent meaning that arson was committed "willfully and maliciously." All that's necessary for an arson charge is proof that the person intentionally started the fire. The criminal intent with arson is intent or purpose to start a fire, even if there's no intent to burn a structure."

http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/terms/arson.html

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Yeah. As I understand it they were out hunting (probably had been

drinking) and came across the first church. Kicked the door in to look around. Don't know why they burned it, except to maybe cover evidence of who it was that broke in.

Morons.

[Skidmore]

5. Are you kidding? Did you see the house that one kid's parents live in?

They'll get a tap on the wrists and kicked out of college.

[bunkerbuster1]

17. Hold 'em for a few years in Gitmo

They look like "enemy combatants" to me.

(Don't charge 'em either.)

[misanthrope]

18. My money's on...

...leniency. Our system works to their advantage.

[FreedomAngel82]

19. I hope so because

people could've gotten hurt.