Racially Motivated Brutal Attack - This Is a Serious Issue

Filed in archive Latin Issues on September 13, 2007

I won't go into details, but (as you probably already know), authorities said Megan Williams, a young black woman, was tortured for days, sexually assaulted, beaten and forced to do horrible and disgusting things. Since 1991, police have filed 108 criminal charges against the 6 suspects.

Her captors, all of them White, stabbed Megan Williams in the leg while calling her a racial slur (the "N word"). One of the assailants cut Megan's ankle with a knife, saying something like "That's what we do with (racial slur) around here."

Authorities in West Virginia said they were investigating the case as a possible hate crime; but estate authorities said yesterday they would not pursue hate crime charges because the other charges the suspects face carry heavier penalties.

In West Virginia, kidnapping charges have a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sexual assault charges carry a sentence of up to 35 years, while a hate crime charge carries a penalty of 10 years. Even so, "federal civil rights violations remain an option", U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller said.

I don't understand why hate crime charges have lighter penalties. It's not uncommon that racially motivated attacks end up with the victim being murdered. I also don't understand why people think racism is not so bad.

When I see this kind of news, all I can think about are all the comments I see everywhere stating that racism doesn't exist, that it's just a "free pass" used by members of racial minorities to "get away with everything". Unfortunately for Megan Williams (and many others who have suffered racially motivated attacks), racism is a very real, very bad thing.

"I don't understand such a horrific crime being committed here," said Johnny Meade, pastor of the community's Apostolic Church of God in the Name of Christ Jesus. The pastor probably believes racism is not an issue within his community. He's probably White, I guess. Don't get me wrong, he's probably a good person, but it seems it's difficult to perceive the existence of racial prejudice and discrimination if you're not suffering it.

Make no mistake: being "racially blind" is not the same as not having racial prejudices. And the fact that Megan Williams is Black doesn't mean this is a problem only for the Black community. Anybody who doesn't fit the American "White" label (a Caucasian born in the US or in Europe) should worry about this.
Megan Williams is Black, but she could be Latin, Asian or a member of any other minority, and it wouldn't really make a difference.

More info: Details Emerge in West Virginia Torture Case