It's Not A Crime In Kentucky

On the Wednesday before last year's presidential election, students and staff at the University of Kentucky awoke to an effigy of a black man (Obama) hanging from a tree on their campus. The university's president called the police and then labeled the incident as "deplorable" and "abominal". To many, it brought back memories of the lynchings of black men.

The next day the Lexington police arrested two young Republicans (pictured above) -- 21 year-old Hunter Bush and 22 year-old Joe Fischer. It was learned they had broken into a fraternity (they did not belong to) and stole the clothing they put on the effigy. They were charged with burglary, theft and disorderly conduct.

Bush and Fischer were shocked at their arrest. They saw nothing wrong with hanging a black man in effigy. To them it was just a harmless "political prank". Their lawyer even said, "If they had hung Joe Biden, we would not be here." That's probably true. Even though Biden is not black and wouldn't evoke images of past lynchings, he is still a Democrat and Kentucky is a very red state.

But the young Republicans didn't need to worry. The "good ole boys" on the Grand Jury bought the "harmless prank" argument, and refused to indict Bush and Fischer for any of the charges. Evidently, in Kentucky it's not a crime to break into other people's living space, steal their clothing and use them to hang an effigy of a black man -- as long as that effigy is of a Democrat and the perpetrators are Republicans.

I have to wonder though. If the defendants had been a couple of young black men, and they had broke into someone's place and stolen clothing for an effigy of Bush or Palin, would the outcome have been the same? I doubt it. I think if that were the case, the defendants would be looking at some serious jail time.

I'm shocked at this decision. Aren't burglary and theft crimes -- even in an election season?