Texas inmate set to die for hate crimes in 9/11's wake

[alp227]

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN) -- "I cannot tell you that I am an innocent man. I am not asking you to feel sorry for me, and I won't hide the truth," Mark Anthony Stroman said from Texas death row at the Polunsky Correctional Unit in Livingston. "I am a human being and made a terrible mistake out of love, grief and anger, and believe me, I am paying for it every single minute of the day."

The 41-year-old prisoner is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for a murder he once said was fueled by "patriotism," but which the state argued was motivated by pure hatred.

The admitted white supremacist was convicted in the deadly shooting of an Indian man, part of a killing spree that began just after the September 11 terror attacks. His target: those he believed were of Middle Eastern background, in revenge and retaliation for the worst domestic terror incident in U.S. history.

A Pakistani man was also murdered and a Bangladeshi man was seriously wounded in separate attacks.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/15/texas.death.row.hate.crime/index.html

[GreenStormCloud]

1. No tears for him from me. N/T

[farscape]

9. Yeah he's an evil MF, but ...

but the State should never be permitted to execute anyone ... ever.

[DBoon]

13. only a totalitarian regime has to right to decide who can live

nt

[sendero]

34. The "state" isn't executing him..

... a jury of his peers is.

And while I'm against the death penalty for anything other than open and shut cases, which this is since he admits what he has done, I have no problem with frying this bastard.

[okasha]

35. That would probably come as a shock to the jury.

If the jury actually had to carry out the sentence, I suspect there would be far fewer death penalties handed down.

Of course "the state" is executing him. The persons who will carry out the execution are employees of the state. The jury was carrying out the functions of a state criminal court when they rendered their verdict and passed sentence.

[leveymg]

2. But, there were no terrorist attacks in American after 9/11 - right? Bush-Cheney kept us all safe

Isn't this part of the proof of that Right-wing GOP assertion?

[bluestateguy]

3. I would urge the anti-DP movement NOT to make this guy their poster boy

I;m not saying they should abandon their principles and support his execution, but I don't think they should vociferously argue against it.

[Springer9]

4. I guess there are degrees of outrage.

n/t

[DBoon]

14. rights mean nothing if only the good, attractive, and intelligent have them

The point of human rights is that even scumbags deserve them as well

[provis99]

17. rather judgemental calling him a scumbag.

[No Elephants]

27. He was rather judgmental himself, wasn't he?

He killed two people and tried to kill a third based purely on skin color.

Obviously, if he had limited himself to his intended targets, he would still deserve a life sentence.

However, he never even bothered to try to find out if any of his three victims were indeed Arabs, his intended target group, or not. That's how little regard he had for human lives.

[Ash_F]

5. Someone should have told him violence is only ok when you do it as part of a bureaucracy

[kamaro]

6. He shouldn't die

I don't necessarily believe what he says at all. But he shouldn't be executed. He's lost his life already.

Much sympathy to the victims and their families.

[izquierdista]

8. Welcome

Well said.

[alp227]

23. I say just get rid of the death penalty because the 8th amendment makes it hard to do

My state (California) has only executed 13 PEOPLE since reviving capital punishment in 1976 with hundreds waiting on death row.

[tularetom]

7. Boo fucking hoo

Not only was he a vicious and vengeful racist, he was also so fucking stupid he didn't know the difference between Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, or Buddhists.

The world loses nothing if they fry him.

[rug]

10. The man he blinded has just sued to stop the execution.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/blinded-muslim-pleads-to-save-his-attackers-life/story-e6frg6so-1226095556392

[AverageJoe90]

11. Wow.

This guy Bhuiyan, has got some real heart, man. 12K gold, even. ;-)

[rug]

12. Yeah, and along the way he got his licks in against Perry.

[buckrogers1965]

18. Amazing.

Reading that article, I was deeply touched. Forgiveness is important to a lot of religions.

[awoke_in_2003]

33. great article...

thanks for posting.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

37. Some of the blood-suckers on this thread could learn something from him.

And to the person up-thread who says the state isn't executing him - duh! If this isn't a prime example I don't know what is. The pro-death folks, when challenged by the actual victims, will point out murder is a crime against the state. Therefore the victim doesn't get to "forgive" the accused.

[WatsonT]

39. Impressive

of course we aren't executing him as a personal favor to his victims. But still, that is an amazing amount of forgiveness.

[udbcrzy2]

15. Justice delayed is justice denied n/t

[buckrogers1965]

16. I have mixed emotions on executions.

When someone does something horrible it is my first inclination to want them executed. But thinking about it logically in the cold light of day I realize that if it was wrong for him to murder someone in anger and hate it is ten times as wrong for the state to coldly murder a helpless human being.

If that man had attacked my family and for whatever reason I was able to subdue him and he was laying tied up at my feet and I was standing there with the gun he had used on my family, if I executed him at that point, I would be guilty of murdering a helpless man and would be prosecuted for the crime.

If I don't have the right to murder someone helpless before me, how can I give a right I do not posses to the government, which derives all it's rights from it's citizens? If we cannot murder a helpless man individually, then neither can any government we form.

[flvegan]

19. Oh, good more revenge.

Let him live out his life in prison. Save us a chunk of cash while truly punishing the crim for his actions. Perish that thought as emotion-driven, salivating masses wish for his death.

Proper punishment is 40 or 50 more years spent in hell on earth. He's 41. Let him live out every day there.

[bitchkitty]

31. +1

I agree. Why give them the peace of death?

[Angry Dragon]

20. I remember another great Texan telling everyone we had

to destroy all the evil ones, kill all the terrorists of the world
and we would not be safe until we did.

Fox news and bush had a great big hand in stirring up the people
to hate, to fear, to destroy the evil of the world.............

[No Elephants]

28. I was stuck in Houston on 911 and for several days after because

Boston's Logan airport, my destination, was closed days longer than other airports.

As a result, I got an earful of Texas talk radio on 911 itself and for days after. I could not believe my ears.

Of course, I was not able to compare it with talk radio that week anywhere else in the country, but it was unspeakable. I don't remember any exact words, just my reactions.

[Angry Dragon]

21. Dupe

[Starbucks Anarchist]

22. Good.

Enjoy hell, asshole.

[JI7]

24. What was his mistake ?

i think this guy who was killed was a Sikh. i wonder if what he says was his mistake is that he killed someone who wasn't Muslim . he thinks it would be ok if they were Muslim.

[boppers]

25. ""I am a human being"?

Nope. You gave up that citizenship, buddy, when you decided to kill human beings in cold blood.

[No Elephants]

26. Jailing a man at age 31 for the rest of his life is punishment enough.

Also, that headline is bs.

He's scheduled to die because he committed two murders and attempted a third, not for hating some group.

Something like "Texas Inmate to Die for Hate Crime Killings" would be a lot less misleading.

CNN is as bad as AP anymore.

[AverageJoe90]

29. Yeah, I guess I can agree.

While I might support the death penalty in the most extreme of cases, this really doesn't quite fit, and from what I'm hearing, this man may genuinely be remorseful for his actions; TBH, I'd rather see a white supremacist reform and turn over a new leaf, than die in prison, IMHO.

[sendero]

30. Well..

... out of a sense of justice, fairness and equity the state of TX is going to fry your ass. See, we can deflect with bullshit words also. As a previous poster said, enjoy hell.

[jpak]

32. Perry will pardon him for his "patriotism"

:D

[totodeinhere]

36. This does not change my opposition to capital punishment.

It is wrong no matter who is the one being executed, period.

[Divine Discontent]

38. he should stay in prison his entire life for his horrific crimes