Woman Accused of Hate-Crime Murder in Subway Push

[n2doc]

By MARC SANTORA
Published: December 29, 2012

A 31-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday and charged with a hate crime in connection with the death of a man who was pushed onto the tracks of an elevated subway station in Queens and crushed by an oncoming train.

The woman, Erika Menendez of the Bronx, has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime, Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney, said.

“The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter’s nightmare,” Mr. Brown said in an interview. “Being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train.”

In a statement released by the district attorney’s office, Mr. Brown quoted Ms. Menendez, “in sum and substance,” as having told the police: “I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.” Ms. Menendez conflated the Muslim and Hindu faiths in her comments to the police and in her target for attack, officials said.

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/nyregion/woman-is-held-in-death-of-man-pushed-onto-subway-tracks-in-queens.html?hp

The fox-washed minions are following their instructions a bit too literally, it seems.

[watch the sky]

1. what the hell?

She thinks Muslims caused 9-11 so twelve years later, she finds some guy she thinks looks to her to be a Muslim, so she pushes him into a subway train? Sheesh . . .

[meti57b]

2. I haven't been back to NYC in a long time, but isn't there some space to stand back from the train?

[bananas]

3. "ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.”

sounds like she admitted to many more hate crimes, god knows what else she's done.

[kelliekat44]

7. I hope she never gets out of jail. nt

[JI7]

4. how do people end up so stupid and ignorant

and being in NY doing a lot of people "look muslim" ?

has she attacked people before ?

[n2doc]

8. Murdoch

She was obviously imbalanced to begin with. Rupert's boys just gave her a little push.

[Odin2005]

5. What a sick, disturbed person.

[Tabasco_Dave]

6. Hindus caused 9/11????

She is not only mean, she is stupid.

[Demo_Chris]

9. Unreal and horrifying

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Why is that second degree murder, and not first?

Are they effectively accepting that 9/11 is a "reasonable explanation" for why the defendant has been "under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance" for 11 years, which mitigates the crime? All I can find is this:

The defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional
disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the
reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a
person in the defendant's situation under the circumstances as the
defendant believed them to be.

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/H/125/125.25

On edit: after more reading, I see the difference between 'first degree' and 'second degree' is mainly whether the victim was a police officer, court witness or similar, or if they were tortured. The "emotionally disturbed" bit would put the conviction down below the level of second degree murder.

[malaise]

11. What an ignorant hater

Throw away the keys

[Heidi]

12. I would be willing to bet that there are many more ignorant, hateful bigots just like her

who have not (yet) killed anyone and/or have not (yet) been caught.