Category: Hate Crimes

Chicago aka “Chi-Raq” Hits 500th Homicide Of 2016 Over Labor Day Weekend

Chicago’s 500th homicide of the year happened over Labor Day weekend, according to the Chicago Tribune.

That number carries a lot of weight for the city — not just in quantity, but in meaning: 2016 is now the deadliest year in two decades.

CHICAGO VS. OTHER CITIES

When you compare Chicago’s homicide rate to that of other big cities in the country — New York and Los Angeles, for example — it tops the list.

But Chicago is not the homicide capital of the United States.

New Orleans, St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore and Newark all have higher rates when you drill down the data per capita.

However, this doesn’t tell the entire story of Chicago’s bloodshed. There’s another statistic that points to a disturbing trend the city is facing: a surge.

WHAT 500 MEANS

In the early 2000s, the homicide rate in Chicago held steady, but it began an upward tick in 2014 and has been increasing ever since.

But 2016 is the deadliest year in two decades when it comes to homicide rates.

Chicago hit 500 homicides before the end of the summer. In 2015, the city had 480 homicides total.

The day-to-day breakdown of those figures is alarming. For example, there were 12 murders on Father’s Day weekend alone. The youngest victim was just 16.

THE GUN PROBLEM

A lot of the homicides in Chicago are gun-related. There are nearly 82 shootings per week. In just one weekend in August, there were eight gun-related homicides and 64 non-fatal shootings.

Chicago has strict gun laws, which is why many gun rights advocates point to it as evidence that tighter regulation doesn’t equal less crime. But Chicago’s gun violence problem is more complicated. Sixty percent of the guns used in shootings were purchased out of state.

Illinois governor Bruce Rauner recently signed a new gun control law that imposes harsher penalties on those who bring in guns from out of state to sell and do not have gun-owner ID cards.

WHO’S TO BLAME?

There’s a deeply rooted distrust of Chicago’s police force.

The city’s police department has been under review for months in the wake of high-profile officer-involved shootings, including that of Laquan McDonald.

That independent task force has accused the police of institutional racism, saying they “have no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color.”

But the other side of this battle is the street crime in Chicago, which has led to the killing of innocent bystanders and kept residents shut inside their homes out of fear.

Englewood resident Stephanie Armas, 43, said she taught her kids from a very young age what to do when they hear gunshots.

“If you live in a society where (your children) have to learn to duck and dodge bullets, you have to teach them how to duck a dodge bullets,” Armas said on September 1. “That’s all you can do.”

Some Chicagoans partly blame the violence on economic struggles and lack of jobs. However, Chicago’s unemployment rate fell from 6.1% in 2015 to 5.5% in 2016.

THE PEOPLE

We often point to Chicago’s alarming homicide numbers, but the real tragedy in this city are the victims and the families left behind.

They are the ones who face this violence every day, the ones who stand over gravestones, the ones who’ve lost hundreds of sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers.

Originally posted on FOX 5 San Diego.

Disgraced Stanford Swimmer Brock Turner Registers As A Sex Offender For Raping Unconscious Girls

Brock Turner, the former Stanford University swimmer who spent three months in jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, has registered as a sex offender in Ohio.

According to Fox 5 San Diego:

Turner registered as expected in Greene County outside Dayton after being released last week from a jail in California, an official with the Greene County sheriff’s office said.

Turner is required to register as a sex offender for life, and had been expected to return to his family’s home in Greene County after his release Friday.

The 2015 assault drew national attention three months ago, when Turner was sentenced and the victim’s wrenching impact statement went viral. The brevity of Turner’s sentence — six months, with eligibility to be released after three — sparked outrage against the judge and controversy over how the justice system treats sexual assault survivors.

For those unfamiliar with Brock Turner, here is the backstory —

Authorities say Turner, now 21, sexually assaulted a woman after both attended a fraternity party near Stanford in January 2015. A Santa Clara County jury earlier this year found Turner guilty of three felony counts: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person.

In the victim impact letter she read in court before Turner’s sentencing, the woman described blacking out at the fraternity party and waking up in a hospital with pine needles in her hair, dried blood and bandages on the backs of her hands and elbows, her underwear missing.

She described finally learning what happened to her through news reports: how she was found unconscious behind a dumpster between two fraternity houses, her dress pulled over her shoulders, her bra pulled down, naked from the waist down. Two passers-by stopped when they saw Turner grinding against her unconscious body; he ran and they chased after him, pinning him to the ground until police showed up.

A prosecutor said Turner should get a six-year sentence in state prison, arguing that he lacked remorse and that his victim was especially vulnerable in her unconscious state.

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“9-11: 15 Sepetembers Later” To Premiere On History Channel –Labor Day 

It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since the 911 terror attacks were launched on New York City. I can still remember the moment it happened so vividly. 

Check out this preview of History Channel’s follow up documentary premiering Monday, September 5: “15 Septembers Later”

Where were you when the attacks happened? Join the discussion.