What does it take to get charged with first-degree attempted murder in New York?
Stabbing a top target of Islamic terror isn’t enough?
Authorities in upstate New York tried to bar the press from attending the arraignment of Hadi Matar, the New Jersey man accused of the stabbing of writer Salman Rushdie.
What were they trying to cover up?
The man suspected of stabbing renowned author Salman Rushdie in western New York pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder in the second degree and other charges, his attorney says.
Right now this is being handled by the county prosecutor even though this is terrorism which is a federal issue. The feds poke their noses into places where they don’t belong and then carefully avoid cases where they do.
New York’s penal code notes that murder in the second degree includes situation where “the defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant’s situation.”
I’m not saying this is the rationale here, I don’t know whether it is or not in play.
Murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree are oddly light for what was an obvious murder attempt. Not to mention domestic terrorism.