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
Trooper
The killer once drove by the WH. So now you are cleared to say that it is Obama’s fault.
Paul S
Thanks for the Breaking News Alert.
DBQ
Riiight. There’s no gun although these people have big holes in their heads. Until you know if the guy had a permit – there was no gun ….or crime committed, or important laws broken. Is that your argument?
Where’s Nick so we can read…..
Haters!
Wade
Your arguments fail because they have nothing to do with the topic at hand. In a debate setting…..you get an F.
You also haven’t answered any of my questions about this guy’s gun possession.
And Pogo likes to roll out…..
Crusades!
Wadewilliams – Pogo is channeling the President about the Crusades.
DBQ
He had a tool that ignited and propelled a small projectile into the victim’s heads. This tool was worn on the alleged crazy person’s waist (and had been seen by the victims earlier) in some sort of carrying case. Perhaps you want to call it an axe. Fine with me.
BTW . A poll has been taken and my arguments did not fail. Most sane people agreed that my arguments are sound regarding the role of the Church in covering up sexual attacks by priests. Perhaps you are in sympathy with the opposition – the insane people.
They have to cover it up Pogo. It is not part of their narrative.
If only Brian Williams was still doing the news he could report that it was actually a post hypnotic suggestion by the ghost of Jim Bakker or something that caused this simple peaceful progressive activist to become a murderer.
Although I could understand how the gays could come up because they too have parking problem.
They just want to park their penis in the wrong place. So to speak.
The less the story involves Republicans, Christians, Jews, or the NRA, the less we will hear about it.
We are moving away from the point of this post. A left wing atheist murdered some Muslims.
It is definitely the fault of MSNBC, the Huffington Post and Chris Matthews.
Put that in your hookah and smoke it libs.
“it’s also not a Catholic priest thing.”
EXACTLY.
“Molesting children is not a gay/straight thing.”
It’s also not a Catholic priest thing.
But the lefties like to roll it out whenever they discuss, well, anything.
Guns, religion, blah blah blah.
Shibboleth city.
I think David Bowie sang about that.
Whether for parking spaces or because they were Muslims – the guy is a crazy person ……….
who had a gun handy
Ah. So. Since you can’t make any headway on beating up on the Catholic Church in this case of a Progressive Atheist murdering three people who are Muslim, you decide to beat this sorry old dead horse: gun possession for a while.
Did he have a legally registered gun? Did he have a concealed carry permit? What type of gun did he have? Did he also have access to knives, axes, hatchets, bleach and ammonia at the same time? Did he have that most potent weapon of death…..a car…..available?
There’s no question that a lot of people who feign outrage over the clergy-abuse scandal/coverup do so not because they care about children, but because they hate the Catholic Church. That being said, a “gay mafia?” Is this a joke? At the risk of making her fall over in shock, I completely agree with Inga on this one point.
Molesting children is not a gay/straight thing. Research has repeatedly shown that gay men or not more likely to molest children than straight men While 80% of the victims were males there were still female victims. And many of the abusers molested little boys AND girls. Father Marciel, referenced above, molested little boys and fathered several children with multiple women.
Edward – evidence of one thing does not preclude evidence of another. There is a Gay Mafia that was/is running the bureaucracy of the Vatican. The current Pope is trying to clean them out. The seminaries of the United States were controlled for many years by a gay mafia, either by design or pure luck, but it did put more gay priests into the priesthood.
“the guy is a crazy person …….”
Assumes facts not in evidence.
Pogo…….
ever the cautious and temperate commentator.
Pogo seems obsessed with the crusades.
Awaiting ….. ALINSKY!
“Local media is reporting that”
Not quite the height of reliability.
I’ll wait for the trial.
DBQ
Whether for parking spaces or because they were Muslims – the guy is a crazy person ……….
who had a gun handy
I am very touchy about my parking place. When I had assigned parking, if someone took my spot I felt violated. We still do not have enough on the parking dispute to know what was going on, but it should play out by the end of the day.