Opinion:Looting during disasters
should be a federal felony, like kidnapping or drug trafficking
Nuf said
posted by Jay Cline | 2:08 PM
2 Comments:
Why should assault with a deadly weapon be any different from mere assault?
Because it is different.
Looting during a national disaster is not the same as a couple of kids throwing a trash can through a store window. Looting during a national disaster impedes national rescue and recovery efforts and therefore can , and should, be subject to federal legislation.
Far from being contrary to our laws (the Constitution), it is quite sympathetic to them.
Why would anyone characterize the looting and lawlessness seen in the wake of H. Katrina as mere theft?
As an example, I hold up the RICO laws, designed to fight racketeering.
The individual crimes of racketeering, extortion, gambling, etc. are serious enough. But it became necessary to augment and elevate the punishment of those crimes, often tried in local and state courts, when they were part of a larger national criminal conspiracy.
"Ordinary" crimes committed in a national disaster area take advantage of the civil disarray in the wake of catastrophes and affect the ability of the national government to provide aid and assistance to those who need it most. If that isn't a fundamental purpose of the Constitution, I don't know what is.
The logic of RICO laws should also be applied in these cases.
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