Plea deal gives attacker 10 days in jail
MOUNT VERNON — A hate crime is something that happens in a big city or down South, but not in Knox County. Yet this is the charge Dale Klein, 18, faced in juvenile court this morning.
32 Responses to “ Plea deal gives attacker 10 days in jail”
2nd chronicles-7-14 If my people which are called by my name will humble themselfs and pray and seek my face then they will here from heaven and i will forgive there sins and heal there land.
I would believe this story if this was the South but not the Midwest. What can one possibly say about the police that it took 11 months to finally charge only person for this hideous crime? And what about the judge, if that had been one of his son’s he would have demanded justice, instead he gives the thug less time that Michael Vick received abusing dogs.
The judge should be ashamed of himself, what a miscarriage of justice.
Appalled in Texas
Thank you for your comment George. I apologize for being so angry with you before. I realize you meant no harm by your statement. But, please understand that those of us who are “different” from the norm are completely aware that hate exists in Knox county… and that hate crimes are not at all unbelievable. I was simply hurt by the fact that there are people who don’t recognize that.
QUESTION:
IF the late Hermelinda “Linda” Kinney (August 25, 1925 ~ August 03, 2003), were to have been the victim instead of Mr. Cantu:
Would defendant Klein have received ten days jail? — nine days? — eleven days?
Would he have been tried at all? — as an adult? — as a juvenile?
Would the other alleged predators have been charged?
JPJ/tbm Sunday June 20, 2009 2:04pm
The lead of the story was supposed to indicated we don’t think of this kind of crime as happening in our community. It was edited from my original lead.
I suggest the family of the victim get in touch with B.R.A.V.O. (Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization) for legal help. They will stand beside you and fight with you in court if they have to. VERY REPUTABLE ORGANIZATION! they are located in Columbus and can be found online.
I lived in big cities and rural cities and this behavior in Knox County is attrocious. I wonder if the situation were in reverse would the sentence be so light?
Totally reprehensible!
Mount Vernon is now “international” !
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8564027
I want to apologize to Mr. Cantu and his family for the behavior of law enforcement because I feel a grave injustice has been done!
As a fellow human being, it saddens me to see such acts of violence go unpunished and that is bottom line what has happened in this case. How can anyone involved in this situation sleep at night knowing an animal is going to be free in 10 days? Dale Klein can’t even call himself human for the acts he committed toward another living soul and it is my wish that his actions haunt him from now until eternity! As a mother of three young children myself, I can not imagine the nightmare Marcie is living with knowing that had it not been for an angel from GOD her son might not even be alive right now!! I am truly ashamed of being a citizen of Knox County under these circumstances.
Where is the justice in this case… 10 days in jail is like standing a child in the corner! Why haven’t the other persons involved been arrested and charged with accessory? Why wasn’t Klein tried as an adult for attempted murder because that is what this case amounts to…even at 17 he was old enough to face adult consequences for his actions!
I only hope that GOD shows mercy and compassion toward those involved in causing harm against Mr. Cantu as his mother showed in the courtroom toward Klein and I further hope GOD can show his love and mercy toward an unfair and unjust system that would allow such hatred to go unpunished!!
Thank you Marcie for being an example to those who have forgotten how to be human and show compassion and love:)
Thank you GOD for being merciful and loving toward Robert!!
Thank You Ezzy Thompson for being the rescuing angel that Mr. Cantu was in need of :)
I am a college student majoring in criminal justice because I believe in JUSTICE!!! I believe in fairness and protecting the RIGHTS of victims… I simply can not believe the horrifying actions of law enforcement in this community! To allow such a traumatizing act of hatred go unpunished is heart sickening!!! When a person takes an oath, they make a commitment to serve and PROTECT the citizens of their community; my question is where is Mr. Cantu’s protection and justice?
While you can sugar coat this crime anyway you like; it is ATTEMPTED MURDER and the animal responsible should be punished accordingly. Forget the fact that he was 17 when the crime took place that is of age to try him as an adult and his crime so serve that a sentence of life in prison is too nice!!!!! I mean if Thompson hadn’t stopped the attacks on Cantu, that young man would probably be dead! Why doesn’t that matter?
I am so sick of hearing about how crimes like this just don’t happen here because THEY DO and it is more then time to WAKE UP MT. VERNON!!! Get your head out of the clouds, come back to reality and stop living in dream world with ALICE and the rest of her wonderland friends…STOP VICTIMIZING the victims of such outrageous crimes and make the guilty pay..
I am from Texas, and I just read this on the news. I am shocked, apalled, and disgusted. 10 days? Really?
I read on wikipedia that Mount Vernon is 96% white, so obviously the judge and prosecutor in this case were white. And obviously they were very racist as well.
The same thing happened in Jasper, TX a few years back to a mentally challenged african american man, except he died.
Racism is deeply rooted in these small uneducated communities throughout the south and the midwest alike.
I will personally be writting letters to the Mount Vernon judicial system as well as the NAACP and Southern Poverty Law Center.
I strongly believe that the boy in this case should have been sentenced years in prison for this, and the judge and prosecutor in this case should now be charged with a hate crime for letting him off so easy.
Gangs in our community… one is called Deuce Deuce Gang… Wake up!!! Mt. Vernon times they are a changing…
Nuttn like gettn the wool pulled over your eyes, welcome to Mt. Vernon…There are even Gnags on our “little community” too. Like they say, “it’s who you know”. I think our Judicial leader has out lived his usefullness in that position. It’s time to quit being as ex-president Bush stated, “A Kinder Gentler Nation”. Enough is enough, it’s time to dole out some real punishment and quit the hand holding crap. Tell the Poice to quit talking on their cell phones and texting too, and look up and see what’s going on. I’ve personally seen them driving in cruisers and chattn on cell phones while on duty lettn people speed on by…This is B.S.
I agree with Annette. The lead on this story couldn’t be more wrong. In a big city, this kind of crime would not be tolerated. The ethnic diversity is too great to allow such hatred and impending ignorance from the legal system. Had this occurred in Cincinnati, Columbus or Cleveland with the same brand of “justice” you’d likely see riots against the legal system and the city. Had it occurred in a legitimately larger market (New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles) the riots would be much more likely. Annette is right — small towns are much more susceptible to racial injustice. Mount Vernon is a breeding ground for this kind of racial hatred. The only thing that this case has proven is that the city, its law enforcement and court give sanction to, and turn a blind eye toward, such unthinkable acts.
An 18 year old is an adult and should be charged as am adult. No criminal charge should be based on emotions (hate). They should be based on actions alone. If Mr. Dale Kline did what was describe in the article, he should be punished for that.
This has been e mailed to Glean Beck at Foxnews we need justice now.
What a joke… Is this the kind of justice system in Mount Vernon?
Gee what an example they set! Just goes to show us “Big City” folk how backwards you are in them neck of the woods! How about suspending the sentence and forcing this little racist prick to some community service for the summer (90 days) at an appropriate community center where he can “walk in the shoes” of his victims….that will hopefully give him some compassion and real perspective.
The US never was and never will be a homogeneous society. What country is Klein planning to fight for when he joins the army?
It is disgusting that such an event can take place and that the victim can be so inadequately defended by our police and justice systems.
A la familia Cantu – por favor no se amarguen con esto. Que se sienten el apoyo de los demas! Rezo por el dia cuando esto ya no pueda pasar en eeuu.
I write the news for WNZR so I’ve been keeping up on this story. I definitely think this is an injustice. The police didn’t even respond right away to the incident and why is only one man being charged? Even if the other 2 are juveniles they still commited a crime. I think Klein should have been drug by a truck with a noose. 10 days and fines? That is ridiculous. I feel so sorry for Cantu and his mother. All the persecution he went through and it’s like the judge slapped them in the face at the hearing.
I wonder, what would the sentence be if a group of Mexicans did that to a Caucasian? I bet the outcome would be a little different.
Doesn’t happen in small towns? People still drive around with confederate flags on their trunk in Mt. V. Hate crimes happen everywhere. Justice did not prevail in this case. Getting 15 days is disgusting. All those involved should be ashamed of themsleves.
This is horrible, and it is a total joke that justice was served. The young man should have been tried as an adult for attempted murder. If someone hadn’t intervened the boy could have been killed. Why haven’t the police gone after the other three? It all smells to high heaven. I’m a former Ohio resident, and I know this area pretty well. Between the Mt. Vernon teacher burning crosses on students’ arms and the racial hate crimes I’m not sure I truly understand why anyone would want to voluntarily call this community home. My mother’s maiden name was Ronk, and I am truly ashamed to think that this judge could be some kind of distant relative. What kind of parents and upbringing did these future (or possible present) members of the KKK or other hate groups receive? They should all have to go for classes on how to behave themselves in a multi-cultural civilized society. We need far less of these people rather than more. I don’t see how a 10 day sentence will teach this hooligan anything.
What is going to happen next. This world is geting worse every day and I have girls that i am raising here and i am so scared to let them out of my sight because i dont know what is going to happen. how do we know that someone isn’t going to hurt our children or us for that matter this world is getting harder and harder to feel safe in and our town dont seen to be very safe to live in either.
Judge Ronk’s admonishment to Klein is almost as appalling as Klein’s actions. A near-lynching is “deserving of some punishment”? This wasn’t some fraternity prank. This wasn’t merely a 17-year-old making a “mistake”. This is the kind of behavior seen in young sociopaths. I am ashamed of our law enforcement–from the police to the judge to the prosecutor–and of our community for allowing such violence to happen on our streets.
How ridiculous that somebody who did something as violent as this is given…begrudgingly, it seems…such a light sentence…It’s a good thing this didn’t happen to a police officers relative or a judges relative or someone else with some power in the community…Man, Mr. Klein would be up the creek then…I have a hard time trying to figure out where the justice is in this case…The victims mother practically had to extract it for herself, and even then, it came out far short of where it should have…
The powers that be should be ashamed of themselves regarding this, but I doubt they will be…I doubt they see any injustice in this at all…It didn’t happen to anybody they know, after all…
As with the others who have commented, I am not at all surprised with this cheezy little punishment! This County should be nothing less than ashamed for such a weak display! What are we saying when we take a CRIME as serious as Attempted Murder (Which is really what this is.) and send the criminal off to “camp” for a week or so? We are part of a nation that has already had ENOUGH TIME to grow up! When hatred of this degree is displayed through such an act as dragging a man by a noose from the back of a moving vehicle! One might think that THE WORLD would hear that the practice of lynching is still alive and well in Middle America! And I hope it does! And look AMERICA! LYNCHING legal here too! Well, almost legal. We should send out invitations to everyone of another RACE or RELIGION who is looking for a nice community to come to. Yes, it is Mount Vernon, Ohio~! COME ONE, COME ALL! WELCOME TO OUR LOVELY COMMUNITY! ONE OF OHIO’S or “BEST PLACES IN AMERICA TO RAISE A FAMILY!” I am so sick of HATRED and RACISM that I could puke! I just don’t understand it! How low can we go as a civilization? With all the blessings we take for granted, with all of the money we just throw away, while whining about OUR AWFUL ECONOMY!?! With all of the wonderful gifts of technology we have… Cell Phones that take videos and computers that allow us to speak to and to learn about ANYONE in this world we would choose… We are still a world of fear and hatred of anything or anybody that is “different” than the people that live in their own safe little house! GROW UP WORLD!!! And to this poor brutalized young man, Mr. Cantu and his family, who have been so wronged… Please let me, on behalf of the Community of Mount Vernon, and the County of Knox, apologize for this awful injustice. And, thank you Ms. Marci Cantu for your true GRACE in forgiving Mr. Klein and wishing him well. That’s HUMANITY! That’s CIVILIZATION! God Bless you! Sincerely, Keith A. Harris, Mt. Vernon resident
That’s Knox County For you! You didn’t have the right last name either! You have to be somebody in this County or this town in order to get justice!
I’ve lived in the “Big City” and believe me small towns are no different than the Big City, I’ve also noticed that sometimes the small towns are worse because of attitudes like that, and the kids think they can get away with anything and it looks as if they do. way to go court system. these kids have nothing to do with themselves, the are lazy not willing to do anything positive with themselves. if he were my son his worse punishment would not be from the courts. Parents step up to the plate ,get your heads out of the sand, the workplace,the phones,ipodes and anything that takes your time away from your kids.
I am very ashamed of the local law enforcement and our judical system!! This is wrong on so many levels. Although I can’t say that I am surprised this situation was handled this way. It makes my stomach turn to think that something this serious can happen and it takes over a year to hold someone accountable!! What would have happened if the other boy had not come along? When are we going to stop teaching our children hate and violence towards others? I pray that this never happens again. I pray for our community.
How does one assume hate crimes only happen in ” the big city” or ‘down south”, This sounds silly. Just because Mt. Vernon is a smaller community, does not make this town impervious to crime… There are the same kind of crimes here just not a frequent and less publicised or hidden from public view altogether.
It’s a shame that we as a nation still have to deal with hate crimes, when are people going to be able to see past their own fears of racial difference? This country will never be able to grow in the direction of We the people if everyone isn’t included in that statement. Small minded thinking and prejudice couldn’t be allowed to exist if we expect to get past war and hatred of differences. This case set a precedence in the tolerance of racial hatred by giving this kid 10 days in jail and I don’t care who’s pointing the finger at who because we are all to blame!
What is the world coming to? We are not living in the 60’s…. What makes this person think that they have the right to attempt to take someone else’s life? What he did was attempted murder! We all have been young and made mistakes, but I would have never thought of taking someone’s life!!! He should have gotten way more than 10 days in jail. That is a slap on the hand…. 30 days in jail really isn’t even enough….. What in the world are we teaching our children? Thats ok to be violent because they will get away with it? This isn’t the first time that our judicial system as failed us. And it seems to be happening more and more!