A San Francisco man accused of scrawling “No More Chinese” in spray paint throughout his San Francisco neighborhood is facing around six years in prison, according to his public defender.
62-year-old John Schenone is being held on $155,000 bail and has been charged with 13 crimes including felony vandalism and a felony hate crime enhancement.
A story in the SF Weekly raises the interesting issue of whether the punishment fits the crime and asks if this is all about politics rather than justice.
“We’re exposing a man to somewhere around six years of jail time for spray painting,” said Yali Corea-Levy, Schenone’s attorney.
According to the office of District Attorney George Gascone, the DA has filed charges in 41 of 66 hate crime cases. No further information was released, but a spokesperson said it could be made available in a few weeks.
A review by the SF Weekly found four high profile cases between 2009 -2011 and in all four cases, the jury declined to convict.
Sara Hussain, an attorney with the San Francisco based Asian Law Caucus wonders whether adding additional years to a sentence actually deters hate crimes.
“If we want to address the problem, instead of adding to mass incarceration, we should look at a systemic level and ask why people are targeting certain populations.” she said.
There’s no question in my mind these crimes should be prosecuted. There’s no question that these crimes are hateful and fall under the definition of a hate crime. The question of overzealous prosecution and unjustified prison terms is a separate issue and should not be confused with the prosecution of hate crimes.
Gascone should not be criticized for pursuing these cases. Too often District Attorney turn their back on these cases because they are overworked. While spray painting racists slogans may not be a physically violent crime, it is violence on the mind. Microaggressions must not be tolerated.
RE: SF Weekly questions the politics of hate crime prosecutions: I agree..