There is a horrible triple murder being investigated this morning in North Carolina where three people from a Muslim family were allegedly murdered by Craig Stephen Hicks, 46. Some are speculating that Hicks’ strong atheist views may have been a factor after reading this “anti-theist” positions on the Internet. He has been described in some media account as a “radical atheist” though atheists have rarely engaged in violent acts against religious persons. UPDATE: Police have said that the dispute was not religiously motivated but a dispute over a parking space.
All three victims are from the same family and identified as Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19. From all accounts, the family was the epitome of a hard-working and successful American family. Barakat was a dental student at the University of North Carolina was a volunteer giving free dental care to Palestinian children. He also helped provide free dental supplies to 75 homeless people in downtown Durham. The recently married couple also organized a fundraiser to raise money for dental care for refugees from Syria. Barakat was going to travel to Turkey to help treat child refugees. His sister-in-law Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha had been studying for a degree at North Carolina State University in Architecture and Environmental Design.
All three were shot in the head.
Hicks posted anti-religious positions on the Internet and asked “why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others’ influence when they agree about so many ideological issues”? His page suggests that he is paralegal at Durham Technical Community College. He reported turned himself in.
News organizations have been focusing on Hicks’ anti-religious statements on the Internet as well as his photograph of a gun. However, anti-religious sentiments do not naturally lead to gunning down family’s of religious people (any more than stated religious beliefs or anti-atheist views naturally leads to killing atheists or agnostics). That does not mean that this was not a motivation in this case but we have little information at this point. Update: The police said that they have evidence of a long-standing parking space dispute.
Nothing is known of any prior interaction or mental disorders on the part of Hicks. Hicks also posted less threatening images, including photos with his wife.
Atheist leaders immediately condemned the murders. The numerous articles focusing on Hicks’ reported atheist views show no specific connection to this family or advocacy of anti-religious violence. However, it creates the possibility of a crime motivated by religious hostilities and is presumably being investigated as a possible hate crime. In the end, the classification of the murders as a hate crime are unlikely to materially affect the prosecution in the case if Hicks confessed to the murders. The question remains an insanity defense. As previously discussed, the insanity defense has been substantially curtailed in this country. I believe that North Carolina uses the M’Naghten Rule with the burden of proof on the defendant. The test is generally defined as meaning “the defendant was laboring under such a defect of reason from disease or deficiency of mind at the time of the alleged act as to be (1) incapable of knowing the nature and quality of his act, or (2) incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong with respect to such act.” State v. Mancuso, 364 S.E.2d 359 (1988) (relying on State v. Evangelista, 319 N.C. 152, 353 S.E.2d 375 (1987)).
Once invoked, the state can press for an examination, though it is often ordered by the Court sua sponte.
(a) If a defendant intends to raise the defense of insanity, the defendant must file a notice of the defendant’s intention to rely on the defense of insanity as provided in G.S. 15A-905(c) and, if the case is not subject to that section, within a reasonable time prior to trial. The court may for cause shown allow late filing of the notice or grant additional time to the parties to prepare for trial or make other appropriate orders.
(b) In cases not subject to the requirements of G.S. 15A-905(c), if a defendant intends to introduce expert testimony relating to a mental disease, defect, or other condition bearing upon the issue of whether the defendant had the mental state required for the offense charged, the defendant must within a reasonable time prior to trial file a notice of that intention. The court may for cause shown allow late filing of the notice or grant additional time to the parties to prepare for trial or make other appropriate orders.
(c) Upon motion of the defendant and with the consent of the State the court may conduct a hearing prior to the trial with regard to the defense of insanity at the time of the offense. If the court determines that the defendant has a valid defense of insanity with regard to any criminal charge, it may dismiss that charge, with prejudice, upon making a finding to that effect. The court’s denial of relief under this subsection is without prejudice to the defendant’s right to rely on the defense at trial. If the motion is denied, no reference to the hearing may be made at the trial, and recorded testimony or evidence taken at the hearing is not admissible as evidence at the trial. (1973, c. 1286, s. 1; 1977, c. 711, s. 25; 2004-154, s. 10.)
SOURCE: NBC
” So statements that suggest an all mighty being would not make what we may see as a failed religious system doesn’t make sense.”
That sentence is illogical, poorly worded, or ill-considered.
Correct, resubmit, and show your work.
Local media is reporting that “A long-running parking dispute between neighbors sparked the shooting deaths of three family members at a quiet condominium complex near the University of North Carolina campus, police said Wednesday.”
This is from WSOCTV Charlotte at midday.
From Twitter: “Twenty cars vandalized with the word “Juif” (“Jew”) in the 16th arrondissement of Paris; suspect held.”
Crusades!!!
So when we say “the vast majority” were adolescents – I guess that wipes the slate clean of the seven year olds, the nine year olds, the eleven year olds. Riiiight.
issac – “How could I possibly know? How could anyone possibly know?”
Exactly my point. Neither I nor you can. So statements that suggest an all mighty being would not make what we may see as a failed religious system doesn’t make sense.
Trooper
Now we’re making some headway. We’re up to the bishops. Can we move on up to archbishops? cardinals? Ready for Lay? Dolan.? Are you ready for popes?
@ Pogo
Not interesting at all. Just predictable…..as I predicted at 11:53
Now….if we had gangs of Catholic Priests attacking little boys, kidnapping children to have sex with, blowing up schools and claiming that it was done in the name of Jesus and for the Glory of the Catholic Church…….which we don’t…..I would have no compunction about naming such acts Catholic extremism and the people who do it Catholic Terrorists. However, those crimes against children were not done in the name of the Church but in the name of lust and sin.
Why the double standard? If Muslims declare they are doing their terrorism in the name of Allah and for the Glory of the Islamic faith, why should we NOT call them Muslim Terrorists?
We don’t know if this atheist guy attacked the three Muslims because he is atheist and they are not. If he attacked them because they are Muslims. Or if he just didn’t like them and he is a crazy person who attacked them on general principles.
In any case, it has nothing to do with the Catholic Church. That ugly can of worms is just a different story and to try to bring that up to muddy the issue just shows that those who do have no real cognizant arguments on the topic at hand and fall back on neeener neeener you have bad people too. Then they stick out tongues and flounce away.
Yes many of the bishops that covered up the abuses of the gay priests were gay. To say they were pedophiles is wrong because in fact the vast majority of cases involved adolescent boys. Girls were not invovled as they normally are in the usual pedophile situation. You know. Public school unionized teachers.
Meanwhile back to gay mafia priests who had control of the Churchs’ checkbook.
Or do you want to talk about Elizabeth Warren? Maybe Alinsky?
Pogo
Crusades? What the hell are you talking about?
Oh. Obama. Carry on.
Pogo
Just responding to your attacks. That okay?
Can cries of B-b-but …the CRUSADES!! be far behind?
Boy. Those gay mafia priests sure had a lot of power……able to write checks to silence people of thousands of dollars.
It’s interesting that a case of an Atheist murdering 3 Muslims immediately devolves into leftist tu quoques about Catholics and Jews.
Inga,
Father Marcial.
Family man- how many children did he have? – and part of the gay mafia (I guess)
There were pedophile Priests who also molested little girls. There are adult men who are not gay that are actually married to adult women, who prey on little boys. It actually happens in Muslim societies too, don’t feel bad.
Trooper
So you state gay priests were the problem.
And what say you about those who enabled the continuation of the attacks – the bishops, archbishops, cardinals and popes? Any problem with them? Or were they just more of those nasty “gay priests”?
The reason why they were moved from one parish to another was because it was one gay priest protecting another. The gay mafia as it were.
Suggested new headline…..
Open Carry Advocate has gun handy…..kills three.
They weren’t pedophiles. They were gays abusers of adolescent boys. If there were no gay priests there would not have been a problem.