Lance Corporal Christopher Stanzel and Corporal Keil Cronauer, the two Marines accused of gay bashing Kieran Daly outside a pizza joint in Savannah in June, won’t be facing any felony counts. Which means no hate crime charges for these two.
The pair will face only misdemeanor charges for punching Daly, says the Chatham County District Attorney’s office. How come? Because according to DA spokeswoman Alicia Johnson, “for a crime to be considered a felony [which a hate crime is considered to be] there has to be proof of a sustained injury. It’s my understanding Daly suffered only a punch. Based on his medical records we could not upgrade the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony.”
On what earth bruising to the brain and causing Daly seizures is considered “only a punch” I will never know. And how the DA can ignore the lead up to the attack — the Marines blasting Daly after finding out he’s gay — only they can tell you. It’s also unclear how involved the FBI became in using the federal Matthew Shepard Act to bring charges, but their hands might be tied: Without felony charges, there’s no way to include the upgrade.
If convicted of the lesser offense, Stanzel and Cronauer face less than a year in jail and bruising fines of up to $1,200.
How about we take this to the next level?
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WalkderDC
This happened in Georgia. They could have cut off his head, and they would have been let go or only charged with a Midsomenor. Chatham County would never, ever charge marines with a felony when the victim was gay.
If you want to let them know how you feel
District Attorney
Larry Chisolm
District Attorney
133 Montgomery Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
Phone: (912) 652-7308
Fax: (912) 652-7328 or (912) 447-5396
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
What a crock of absolute freakin bullshit this is…. The entire reason for hate crime legislation is to punish those whos motivation is hate. It is designed exactaly for cases like this, to give prosocutors another avenue to indict on additional charges to provide a more severe penalty for those who prey on others simply using hatred as a motivation…………..
Pretty much a 100% guarantee if these vile little scumbags attacked a member of any other group Chisom would have filed the hate crime charges……….
scott ny'er
this is effed up. majorly.
horus
there goes my idea that Savannah is ok and safe for us. obviously the prosecutor is not interested in having gays vacationing there.
dave
Letting these two poor excuses for “The Few, The Proud, The Marines” off with what amounts to a slap on the wrist is an inexcusable miscarriage of justice. And yet, I’m not at all surprised. Maybe someone can dig up some dirt on good old boy Larry Chisolm, not that I’m vindictive or anything…
horus
if i was a resident of that fair city i would be in front of city hall making a fucking scene.
horus
ex marine and fucking ashamed. bring dishonor on the Corps, fuctards
aeon
daly’s claim that he had brain injuries and suffered seizures were not backed up by hospital records. the lgbt liason within the police department weeks ago suggested that the facts of the case were not being reported correctly. however the hate crimes bill covers any crime that “constitutes a crime of violence” not just felonies.
Bill Perdue
The same kind of slap on the wrist happens time after time.
The Hate Crimes Law is too tepid to be worth much except to help gather statistics and even there its value is limited. As Amnesty International points out “Nearly four decades after Stonewall, and despite significant progress in the recognition of the human rights of LGBT people, the targeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals for police abuse and misconduct remains a persistent and widespread problem in the US.” Many victims don’t report crimes because of fear of the police as well as fear of the christian thugs who attacked them.
Recently the cop, Bridges McRae who mercilessly beat Duanna Johnson’s got two years for it. Duanna Johnson was ‘mysteriously’ murdered before her threatened lawsuit against the city of Memphis got underway.
Here’s the video of the unprovoked racist, anti-GLBT beating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yrw-J0rQkc
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) releases annual reports on hate crimes. It’s a “a coalition of 40 anti-violence organizations that monitor, respond to, and work to end hate, domestic and sexual violence, HIV-related violence, and other forms of violence affecting LGBTQ communities.”[img]http://unfinishedlives.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/duanna-johnson.jpg?w=252&h=400[/img]
ewe
The two of them are a disgrace to what a Marine is and everyone knows that but let’s face it. Two white boys like these two would have been let off the hook even if they had killed a gay man because that is the systemic entrenched hate we face daily. Maybe the gods will have them crash into a telephone pole by themselves.
SomethingElse
I agree with the decision. Kieran Daly wasn’t even hurt. He was out of the hospital the very next night going all about Savannah giving interviews. And the two marines had clean records. Kieran Daly is the one who’d been arrested before (in January) for a road rage incident with a truck driver (where he allegedly insulted the driver with a racial slur). In that case he got a punch in the back of the head too. Some newcomer activists to Savannah tried to make this into a cause celebre for themselves and have wound up looking lame. There are far more serious, and very real, gay-bashings going on in Georgia that deserve attention. Just not this case.
SomethingElse
And Queerty already knows what a troublesome character Kieran Daly is (they reported on his prior legal troubles) so why they leave it out of this report is suspicious.
DR
I reserve comment on the misdemeanor versus felony charges except to say that with clean records and active military, I’m not surprised at the resolution, that’s how the criminal justice system works.
In terms of the hate crimes issue, I’m opposed. There is no reason that an assault against a Jewish person, gay person, or black person should be graded any higher than the assault itself. Motive is motive, and that’s certainly helpful in a trial, but unfair in sentencing and charging. It sends a message that some victims deserve more treatment or better treatment than others. I don’t agree with that at all, we need to stop this culture of victimhood.
reason
I guess this means they will be able to continue serving in the Marines. The prosecutors probable had blinders on because they were in the service, but these individuals are likely to commit crimes overseas that will end up hurting the service and all of the soldiers enlisted.
SomethingElse
Why would they continue committing crimes, Reason? They’ve only been involved in this one case. Kieran Daly is the career criminal here.
SomethingElse
And I bet that Black truck driver who got called “n—er” by Daly was laughing his head off when he heard Daly got punched a second time.
SomethingElse
The comments here, from a few months back, give a good overview of the case.http://www.projectqatlanta.com/news_articles/view/Savannah_gay_beating_divides_LGBT_activists?gid=5731
nineinchnail
This is what happens when two suppoedly straight guys come int contact with someone who causes them to doubt their own sexuality.
Michael
Savannah is a great place to visit, well worth the trip. This incident happened at 3:45 AM, and no pizza or other establishments are open in the area at this hour. Like many cities, this is not the ideal hour to be out walking about after a night of partying. Suffice to say, be careful, and also know that the State of Georgia does not have a hate crimes (bias based) law.
SomethingElse
Not according to Kevin Clark, Michael. He’s the one that took this b.s. Kieran Daly story and tried to run with it, making it look like Savannah is the mecca of gay-bashings.
Kev C
I don’t like seeing this picture of these 2 goons. Can Queerty please replace it, maybe with a picture of the victim instead?
SomethingElse
Kev C. : You mean the “victim” who’d been arrested before in another incident where he made an Af Am truck driver punch him in the back of the head.
Kev C
@SomethingElse: If a black guy calls me a faggot (many have) do I also get to punch them in the back of the head multiple times too?
SomethingElse
Yes, you do. You’ll probably get arrested, but you probably can control yourself. Apparently Daly has a record of provoking punches. (Read the article I linked to).
Kev C
@SomethingElse: No, actually I don’t have such a right because free speech exist in this country and I’m law abiding.
Ogre Magi
@Michael: Better yet just stay away from the south
SomethingElse
Cool, Kev C. I can’t wait for hate crime laws to pass Federally so I can run around Atlanta shouting “n-ggers n-ggers!!” and if I get punched…HE’LL be the one in trouble.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
IF “IGNORANCE IS BLISS,” Georgia has a big smile on its face, and two separate issues are being wrongly conflated.
It’s unclear from the source article the exact origin of the assertion that an act must be a “felony” to meet the federal definition of hate crime, but while Georgia law may require “sustained injury” for a felony charge, neither “sustained injury” NOR a felony charge is required for the attack to qualify as a “hate crime” under federal law.
The local FBI could be misinformed, but there is nothing that fits the article’s assertions in “Division E ? Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.” I have pulled from the Act’s referenced other statutes the definitions of terms and inserted them after three asterisks ***. Note the keyword “OR” rather than “AND” in referencing a “felony” under “crime of violence.”
>>>>Definitions.
In this division—
(1) the term ***“crime of violence” has the meaning given that term in section 16 of title 18, United States Code;
***[“The term “crime of violence” means—
(a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or prop¬erty of another, OR
(b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.”]
(2) the term ***“hate crime” has the meaning given that term in section 280003(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 2096), as amended by this Act;
***[“(a) DEFINITION- In this section, hate crime’ means a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person.”]<<<>>>(c) DEFINITIONS.— In this section—
“(1) the term ***“bodily injury” has the meaning given such term in section 1365(h)(4) of this title, but does not include solely emotional or psychological harm to the victim;<<<>>>Sec. 4704. Support for Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions by State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement Officials.
(a) Assistance Other Than Financial Assistance.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—
At the request of a State, local, or tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that—
(A) constitutes a crime of violence;
(B) constitutes a felony under the State, local, or tribal laws; ….”<<<<
Kev C
@SomethingElse: Speech, including hate speech, is protected by the first ammendment. Maybe if you weren’t a criminal you would understand this.
Michael
@SomethingElse: Well, I do not know Kevin Clark, but I do know Savannah quite well. There is a large and well respected gay community in Savannah, and the town is far from resembling the stereotypical redneck gay bashing South. Savannah simply does not have this reputation. I believe anybody who lives there, or who has visited will agree. The area of the incident is the bar district, and is generally safe, teeming with tourists and locals, and well (overly) patrolled by police during business hours. I greatly sympathize with anyone getting beaten, but guys, 3:45 AM on Saturday when everything is closed, is not a good time to be walking around. Little good happens on the streets of any town at this hour, and I think everybody here is mature enough to know the risks.
SomethingElse
Michael : I agree with you. But if you read the ProjectQAtlanta article I linked to, as well as the comments with that article, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
SomethingElse
Anyway, the last time Daly provoked a guy into punching him it wasn’t 3:45 a.m.
skzip888
“3:45 AM on Saturday when everything is closed, is not a good time to be walking around. Little good happens on the streets of any town at this hour, and I think everybody here is mature enough to know the risks.”
Except the straight dudes doing the punching, that is.
Jason
The one on the left give
Jack
I want the one on the left to rape my mouth.
seaguy11
Has the victim issued a statement in response to this? I think he should counter the prosecutor if he did indeed sustain injuries. Fight them with facts and make this a big issue with help from bloggers and national gay groups!
SomethingElse
Seaguy : Of course he hasn’t made a statement. Even the silly rally they had for him didn’t see him there because his past arrest came to light the day before. Kevin Clark and the organizers of the rally, mortified at what had come to light, made the excuse that Daly had to be home resting with his wife and children (yes, he has a wife and kids at home).
SomethingElse
And, again, there were no serious injuries. Even the Savannah gay liasion to the P.D. said that. Daly was out and running about the very next night.
wompman
C’mon, it’s Georgia. A state where gay bashing is the 5th most popular sport. Why is anyone at all surprised these two no-neck meat-heads are celebrated and congratulated for punching a gay guy?
SomethingElse
How are they celebrated and congatulated, Wompman? One of them (the one that hit) will probably get in trouble for assault or battery or something. It’s just the lame attempt to make this a case of Federal Hate Crime laws that didn’t work. As far as Georgia goes……yes, we did have the Piedmont Park attacks on Rev. Noblitt and his boyfriend, but in New York they had the fatal murder of Sucuzhanay and the gang attack on the gay couple in Staten Island.
Timothy Williams
Something else
on comment .27 your analogy makes absolutely no sense. The only way it would make sense would be if Daly had beaten the two bashers above. If you’d like to make your hypothetical analysis it would be more like calling out the N word and beating black people. And yes, that is against the law.
Secondly I’m not sure why you think being gay bashed before means he was asking to be gay bashed again? What I’m clear on is that there is no legal basis for it and certainly no law that states everyone out at 3:45 AM is allowed to get punched in the face.
In defense of the prosecutor he can only charge what a jury is willing to convict…
SomethingElse
Timothy : He wsn’t gaybashed before. He was bashed for inciting a road rage incident and then calling the truck driver the “n” word.
KC
“It saddens me to learn that the FBI and DOJ have made a decision not to prosecute under the federal hate crimes law; however, I am not ready to let this matter die. I am working with authorities, attorneys, and LAMBDA Legal to ensure justice is delivered according to the letter of the law. I will not go quietly, I have attempted to allow the powers that be to handle this investigation and case appropriately, but have been disappointed at almost every turn. The SCMPD have got some explaining to do, as does the DOJ, and I will not rest until I have answers and justice!” Daly said in a statement.
http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=13076533
@SomethingElse, take it from someone who knows the victim VERY well, you’re so far off base its comical!
Michael
Your facts are not complete. Bear in mind, this case was delayed by the prosecution, seeking elevated felony charges, and called in the FBI to investigate. Steve Emmett of the FBI said officials from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., determined the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault June 12 did not warrant the elevated charges. Blaming the Savannah police and local DA is inappropriate.
SomethingElse
And Michael, while we’re talking Savannah (the Berendt book just scratched the surface of the elegance and mysteries of that town), if you ever see that newcomer Kevin Clark character, tell him any grown man who’d name a guest house Under the Rainbow and put “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister on his site is too much of a doofus for Savannah.
John
Sounds like the homo got exactly what he deserved and these poor Marines are being oppressed.
They should charge Daly for disturbing the peace and any sodomy laws, then toss him out of the service with a dishonorable discharge.
Me
Homophobes or not! I’d do the hot one on the left (Not the grossly looking one on the right, though)
Matthew
the guy on the rights face looks swollen everywhere lol
death.from.above
These Marines shouldn’t be charged with any crime. The fruit loop should be charged with harassment. Semper Fi.