The Value of the Crosses

As I read the article about Camp Casey setup near the president's retreat in Crawford, Texas, this, almost side note, about the guy who on Monday night set up a bar on his pickup and mowed over half of the crosses, caught my attention.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/17/MNGDPE91CT1.DTL

The above report states that there were 500 crosses set up at Camp Casey representing the soldiers who have died while serving in the Iraq war. Another article I read states there were around 800 crosses. Now, you might be wondering why I am so interested in how many crosses there were at Camp Casey. Isn't this a bit trivial?

The guy that was so furious about this "anti-Iraq war protest" and drove over the crosses, Larry Northern, was charged with criminal mischief. In Texas, if the cost to repair or replace the damaged property is over $1,500, then the charge is a fourth-degree felony. The articles I have read did not disclose the severity of the charge, so I wanted to find out for myself how severe could the consequence of this act of frustration be for Mr. Northern.

Thus, if Mr. Northern destroyed half of the crosses, then the cost to repair either 250 or 400 needs to be assessed. A small white wooden cross, not personalized, online costs $9.99, not including tax, shipping and handling. If I just add tax at 7% (.70), then it would cost $10.69. To replace 250 crosses, it would cost $2,672.50; for 400 crosses, $4,276.

Who knows how the authorities handled the value of those crosses that were destroyed. They may have looked at how inconsequential they were and devalued them so that Mr. Northern's punishment would be minimal at best (a mild misdemeanor). Or they could have seen that this act was not only damaging personal property and assessing the full cost to replace the property, but desecrating a memorial for the war dead, and threatening the public good as he could have injured or killed people on the site with his inappropriate vehicular driving.

Now, is the fun part of our wonderful justice system. The consequence for a charge of fourth degree criminal mischief in Texas: 180 days to 2 years in state jail, may also be fined up to $10,000; or court may impose Class A misdemeanor punishment. Yup. He could either get slapped on the wrist with a Class A misdemeanor, or get severely pounded with a $10,000 fine and 2 years in jail. I guess it is up to the judge and their particular mood about the criminal and the crime.

I am not sure the punishment Mr. Northern received for his act of fury, but if he was given a felony sentence, he will be unable to vote until his sentence is over, and even then every single time he has to fill out paperwork for an employer or a government form he has to mark and explain his felony charge. I'm sure that in some circles his act has been heralded as well-deserved retribution for all this anti-war protesting. And, in other circles, his reputation has gone down a bit, putting it nicely.

What are your thoughts about any topic introduced here? Please feel free to post your comments.