approximately a year ago, before the coronavirus hysteria, sf district attorney sanctioned hate crimes against asians. at that time, district attorney chesa boudin’s offices dropped [asian] hate crime charges against mr. dwayne grayson.
as sifst reported, “conversations with the victim led da chesa boudin to seek restorative justice — which is commonly known as the process of seeking rehabilitation for offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community.” sfist this statement really means is that the district attorney’s offices decided not to prosecute. it was within their discretion and it was their decision. the victim has not choice. arguably, the da’s offices exploited an old asian man traumatized by the incident rather than pursue justice. this was criminal. however, not in a literal sense.
the da’s office, in this matter, sent the message that they were not taking hate crimes against asians seriously. if fact, you can argue that they were green lighted. they allowed an alleged criminal to avoid criminal prosecution. he received a slap on the wrist.
please watch this video which was part of the sfist article that showed a portion of the dwayne grayson incident.
this same district attorney is now responsible for dispensing justice on the rash of alleged asian hate crime that have occurred recently.
the district attorney provided an interview with the nytimes concerning the recent murder of an elderly asian man. fox reported, “san francisco district attorney chesa boudin has sparked outrage on social media after telling the new york times that 19-year-old antoine watson was “in some sort of a temper tantrum” when he allegedly attacked 84-year-old thai immigrant vichar ratanapakdee.”
sf district attorney should have refrained from discussing the case the fox report indicated some alleged facts that could be damning if true. reporter dion lim is reported to have said that “In addition, she obtained police documents that claimed to show watson “on surveillance going to a bmw after the crime— retrieving a cell phone & walk back to ratanapakdee & appear to take photos of him as he was dying.”” fox
if these facts are true, it was not a mere “temper tantrum.” again, if true, it is both sickening and depraved that he would go to retrieve a phone and take a picture the man he just assault as he lay there dying. thus, the da’s statement prior to prosecution is irresponsible. all of the facts must be ascertained to assess what justice must be pursued.
don’t get angry, get justice!
at minimum, the sf district attorney should recuse himself from any and all prosecution of hate crimes against asians. further, the asian community should seek his removal, recall or resignation. it is time to restore justices, not restorative justice.
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be well!!
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