19 year old whipped to death by his parents and church members

#1 · 17-10-2015 04:22AM #1

For 14 hours with an electrical cord all because he wanted to leave the church.

Full story here

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/new-york-church-assault-case/

Absolutely shocking!

hatrickpatrick · 17-10-2015 04:37AM

Statements from the parents' lawyers:

Don Gerace, attorney for Bruce Leonard, has entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of his client, whom he said has no criminal history and has lived in the community more than two decades. Leonard has been a church member for eight years.

"In the state of New York he is charged with manslaughter in the first degree, which requires intent to cause serious bodily injury and I do not believe there was any intent," Gerace said this week.

Deborah Leonard's attorney, Devin Garramone, said his client had a stent put in due to a heart condition and requires constant medical attention.

"I cannot imagine my client had anything to do with these injuries, especially in the condition she is in," he said.

"I do not believe there was any intent"? The actual f*ck, like?

"I cannot imagine my client had anything to do with these injuries", even after she demonstrated to police how she battered him with a computer lead? The actual f*ck, like?

I understand that lawyers have an obligation to represent their clients and that people are entitled to legal representation, but I was unaware that this extended to an obligation to relay very, very obvious bullsh!t cover stories to the media.

hatrickpatrick · 17-10-2015 04:37AM

Statements from the parents' lawyers:

Don Gerace, attorney for Bruce Leonard, has entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of his client, whom he said has no criminal history and has lived in the community more than two decades. Leonard has been a church member for eight years.

"In the state of New York he is charged with manslaughter in the first degree, which requires intent to cause serious bodily injury and I do not believe there was any intent," Gerace said this week.

Deborah Leonard's attorney, Devin Garramone, said his client had a stent put in due to a heart condition and requires constant medical attention.

"I cannot imagine my client had anything to do with these injuries, especially in the condition she is in," he said.

"I do not believe there was any intent"? The actual f*ck, like?

"I cannot imagine my client had anything to do with these injuries", even after she demonstrated to police how she battered him with a computer lead? The actual f*ck, like?

I understand that lawyers have an obligation to represent their clients and that people are entitled to legal representation, but I was unaware that this extended to an obligation to relay very, very obvious bullsh!t cover stories to the media.

biko · 17-10-2015 09:41AM

Relijun, messing **** up since year zero.

17-10-2015 09:53AM

Lucifer MorningStar wrote: »

For 14 hours with an electrical cord all because he wanted to leave the church.

Full story here

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/new-york-church-assault-case/

Absolutely shocking!

Jaysis.

wil · 17-10-2015 09:59AM

Lucifer MorningStar wrote: »

For 14 hours with an electrical cord all because he wanted to leave the church.

Full story here

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/new-york-church-assault-case/

Absolutely shocking!

Tis terrible.

Avatar MIA · 17-10-2015 10:01AM

Lawyer statement, 'What we are clearly seeing here is evidence of stigmata. It's unfortunate that my client is being persecuted because they were in the presence of a miracle being enacted.'

Canadel · 17-10-2015 10:06AM

Lucifer MorningStar wrote: »

Absolutely shocking!

I'm not in the slightest bit shocked.

Martial9 · 17-10-2015 10:08AM

It's staggering how somebodies conscience can be so warped that they can justify whipping their own kin to death with a cord for apostasy.

Also, second degree manslaughter? They lamped him out of it for fourteen hours. What did they expect to happen? That he would just saunter on out after? Charges should be bumped up.

FishOnABike · 17-10-2015 10:09AM

I thought lawyers / solicitors first duty was to the law / court and secondly to represent their client. It baffles me how they can reconcile peddling such blatant nonsense on behalf of their clients with their supposed ethics.

Links234 · 17-10-2015 10:12AM

That is horrific

Hopefully justice will be served.

biko · 17-10-2015 10:15AM

Juice will be served, in prison..

17-10-2015 10:17AM

biko wrote: »

Relijun, messing **** up since year zero.

Belief systems have been around a lot longer than year zero and will be around as long as humans exist. Religion is just a current codification of some of those systems. Militant Atheism is also a belief system and there are proportionately as many messed up atheists as religious.

CarrickMcJoe · 17-10-2015 10:17AM

Lucifer MorningStar wrote: »

For 14 hours with an electrical cord all because he wanted to leave the church.

Full story here

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/new-york-church-assault-case/

Absolutely shocking!

The Devil never sleeps!

suicide_circus · 17-10-2015 10:19AM

How is this not murder. Cruel evil ****ers should never see the light of day and their church outlawed

Links234 · 17-10-2015 10:26AM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Militant Atheism is also a belief system and there are proportionately as many messed up atheists as religious.

A lack of a belief system is a belief system now?

And I don't see atheists committing honour killings because of anyone abandoning their non-belief. Oh but Dawkins can be a pompous asshole, guess that's just as bad then?

wil · 17-10-2015 10:45AM

Links234 wrote: »

A lack of a belief system is a belief system now?

And I don't see atheists committing honour killings because of anyone abandoning their non-belief. Oh but Dawkins can be a pompous asshole, guess that's just as bad then?

Some communists countries and dictatorships may have already proven you wrong.

meeeeh · 17-10-2015 11:06AM

wil wrote: »

Some communists countries and dictatorships may have already proven you wrong.

About 20 million times wrong only in Siberia.

That being said this freedom of religion nonsense that allows all sorts of abuse should be scrapped. It seems as soon as you add religion to any abusive actions it suddenly becomes ok. Or is tolerated until something dreadful like this happens.

The_Valeyard · 17-10-2015 11:52AM

Links234 wrote: »

A lack of a belief system is a belief system now?

And I don't see atheists committing honour killings because of anyone abandoning their non-belief.

Soviet Union .
Communist China.
Albania.

eviltwin · 17-10-2015 12:00PM

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Soviet Union .
Communist China.
Albania.

Enforced atheism is not atheism. That's one extremist in a position of power forcing their will on the people and that is equally as common in religious societies. Most average atheists don't try and enforce their lack of faith on anyone, they debate sure but you don't see many trying to ban religion or close churches or anything like that.

Sand · 17-10-2015 12:05PM

Brutality by religious people like these put the odd awkward or irritating tweet by Richard Dawkins into perspective I hope.

The Randy Riverbeast · 17-10-2015 12:15PM

It's a barbaric religion and has no place in western society. Oh wait, this isn't Muslims, sorry. Better switch to the Christians did something response.

They are entitled to their opinion and to say otherwise makes you a militant atheist.

meeeeh · 17-10-2015 12:16PM

eviltwin wrote: »

Enforced atheism is not atheism. That's one extremist in a position of power forcing their will on the people and that is equally as common in religious societies. Most average atheists don't try and enforce their lack of faith on anyone, they debate sure but you don't see many trying to ban religion or close churches or anything like that.

The only difference between state terror or commune terror is that nutjobs have more people under them. The principle is the same, punishment of those who don't conform to idea whatever that one might be. There are also always enough cheerleaders to enable that. And the end result is no different if religion is replaced by ideology.

Btw as a general point Dawkins is vocal but he is nowhere near militant and frankly describing him as militant atheist is laughable and shows lack of general and historical knowledge. Just because something pops often on fb feed that doesn't make it militant.

DeadHand · 17-10-2015 01:02PM

The Randy Riverbeast wrote: »

It's a barbaric religion and has no place in western society. Oh wait, this isn't Muslims, sorry. Better switch to the Christians did something response.

They are entitled to their opinion and to say otherwise makes you a militant atheist.

Not sure while you felt the need to bring Islam into it.

But, since you insisted, I will point out that murder for the "crime" of apostasy is infinitely more common among Muslims than modern Christians and has far stronger doctrinal justification in Islam than it has in Christianity. It is so rare among modern Christians, in fact, that a story like this becomes newsworthy enough to appear here.

Agreed! Islam is, in all but its most moderate and lenient interpretations, a barbaric religion with no place in Western society or anything calling itself a "society". What ISIS practice in the Middle East, for instance, is Islam in its purest form.

Make no mistake, Christianity is barbaric too. The difference being it has been neutered, largely rejected within and evolved to adapt to Western society. Islam has suffered no such rejection, loss of power and undergone no such evolution. It only grows more powerful and extreme.

This is why it is so much more dangerous today.

FishOnABike · 17-10-2015 01:13PM

Martial9 wrote: »

second degree manslaughter? They lamped him out of it for fourteen hours. What did they expect to happen? That he would just saunter on out after? Charges should be bumped up.

I'd guess this is a holding charge and that when it comes to trial it will be for a more serious charge. With how the justice system seems to work there they'll possibly plea bargain to a charge less than they might be found guilty of by a jury trial in return for pleading guilty.

LDN_Irish · 17-10-2015 01:25PM

DeadHand wrote: »

But, since you insisted, I will point out that murder for the "crime" of apostasy is infinitely more common among Muslims than modern Christians and has far stronger doctrinal justification in Islam than it has in Christianity. It is so rare among modern Christians, in fact, that a story like this becomes newsworthy enough to appear here.

Agreed! Islam is, in all but its most moderate and lenient interpretations, a barbaric religion with no place in Western society or anything calling itself a "society". What ISIS practice in the Middle East, for instance, is Islam in its purest form.

Make no mistake, Christianity is barbaric too. The difference being it has been neutered, largely rejected within and evolved to adapt to Western society. Islam has suffered no such rejection, loss of power and undergone no such evolution. It only grows more powerful and extreme.

Having read the Quran I actually agree with quite a bit of this post (particularly that IS or Saudi to add another are practising "pure islam".) You've done something really odd though, and excuse my cynicism but you seem with it enough to know exactly what you're doing, you're comparing Christianity in the developed world (or here) with Islam in the developing world. Christianity has had its teeth pulled here, and that's a great thing. We can look forward to the day that that happens with Islam. But we're also still looking forward to the day that that happens with Christianity in the developing world too, because Christianity in Africa and the middle east is nothing like as disempowered as it is here.

Edit: I was born in East London and I've lived there for roughly half my life on and off, so I actually know a good few muslims and I don't know a single one who'd sympathise with IS or the Saudi regime. Not one.

Sonics2k · 17-10-2015 01:35PM

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Soviet Union .
Communist China.
Albania.

But they didn't kill people because of Atheism or in the name of Atheism. Instead they treated their own leaders as a kind of God or all knowing leader.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 17-10-2015 01:44PM

Sonics2k wrote: »

But they didn't kill people because of Atheism or in the name of Atheism. Instead they treated their own leaders as a kind of God or all knowing leader.

And slaughtered those who refused to adhere to their new doctrine. Sounds like a pretty similar mindset to me.

FishOnABike · 17-10-2015 01:45PM

wil wrote: »

Some communists countries and dictatorships may have already proven you wrong.

meeeeh wrote: »

About 20 million times wrong only in Siberia.

That being said this freedom of religion nonsense that allows all sorts of abuse should be scrapped. It seems as soon as you add religion to any abusive actions it suddenly becomes ok. Or is tolerated until something dreadful like this happens.

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Soviet Union .
Communist China.
Albania.

Sonics2k wrote: »

But they didn't kill people because of Atheism or in the name of Atheism. Instead they treated their own leaders as a kind of God or all knowing leader.

I would think it was more that the state saw any organisation (religious or non religious) as a potential threat to state security. It was not so much enforced atheism as brutally suppressing any organisations outside of the state approved party. Alternative political, social or intellectual views were equally surppressed. Organisation, not belief in something was the issue.

The_Valeyard · 17-10-2015 01:57PM

Sonics2k wrote: »

But they didn't kill people because of Atheism or in the name of Atheism. Instead they treated their own leaders as a kind of God or all knowing leader.

Albania did, article37 of the constitution.

Calibos · 17-10-2015 02:37PM

When the usual shower stop bringing up 'Militant Atheism' in any thread about religious medievelness, I'll stop bringing up Santa Claus.

19 year old whipped to death by his parents and church members

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