Girl is run over and killed by her own father...

[inferiare]

...all in the name of HONOUR. No joke. I found this to back this up, and this is what I got in my email from my mom about it (with the story I'm copypastaing here):

""She was strong, beautiful, really caring, she was always willing to help people." This was the description of Noor Almaleki (pictured above) according to one of her co-workers from the Applebee’s in Glendale, Arizona.

Her caring came to end on October 20, 2009 when her own father, Faleh Hassan Almaleki ran her down with his Jeep Cherokee. Noor fought for her life until Monday November 2, 2009, when she succumbed and died from her injuries. Noor was only 20 years old. Her father didn’t just run over Noor; at the time he ran her down, she was walking in a parking lot with her fiancé’s mother, Amal Edan Khalaf. The 43-year-old Amal Edan Khalaf was seriously injured.

This tragic story made national headlines when it was revealed that the girl’s father, Faleh Hassan Almaleki, deliberately targeted his daughter and attacked her for becoming too “Westernized.”

Nicole Furugia worked with Noor at Applebee's, and stayed in touch with her until her death.

But her employment there, like her life, was short lived. "She came in all frantic one day and asked me to cover her shift because her father found out where she worked," said Furugia. "She had to quit her job, and she had to move."

"She was a good person, and moral," according to Noor's friend Sharlee Caudle. "Most parents would be glad to have a child like that." Her friends described her as an aspiring model and actress, working and going to school.

I spoke with her former manager on the telephone, Chad Wilcoxon, and he told me “that Noor had to quit due to her dad,” she called one day and said “I have to quit due to family reasons.” He told me that “her death affected everyone here.” As we spoke, he explained, “I only worked with her for one month. I didn’t even know she was Iraqi.”

I wanted to get to know Noor before writing this story; she had pages on Facebook and MySpace. She had lots of friends. She posted details about herself; she posted a photo on a Web site for aspiring models and actresses. She lived with her boyfriend and his mother. But as I worked to track down people who knew her, I came upon some interesting twists to this story that I had not heard before.

Some friends of Noor said that her father had taken her to Iraq and told her they were visiting relatives. Once there, he married her off and left her to fend for herself. Noor then had to find enough money to make her way back to America and, once here, she moved in with the fiancé she loved. Furugia said she had gone with Noor to look into getting a restraining order against her father. "She was very determined on getting it, she was scared."

Family members told police that the father was upset that his daughter failed to live by traditional Muslim values, and prosecutors have also said Almaleki has admitted killing his daughter because she disgraced the family by not following traditional Iraqi or Muslim values. Faleh Hassan Almaleki was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and two counts of leaving the scene of a serious accident. Police said Almaleki fled the country after the attack, driving to Mexico and later taking a plane to London. He was detained by British authorities and extradited back to the United States.

Speaking before a Maricopa County judge, county prosecutor Stephanie Low said Almaleki has admitted purposefully running down his daughter. Low indicated that Mr. Almaleki does not deny that his actions were intended to harm and even kill Noor:

“By his own admission, this was an intentional act and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family,” Low said. “This was an attempt at an honor killing.”

Arizona, like 35 other states, currently has the death penalty and there are 133 people on death row. Obviously, a heinous crime such as one murdering one’s own child with premeditation would result in the death penalty if found guilty. But not in this case, no:the decision not to seek the death penalty was taken after Almaleki's attorney, Billy Little, a public defender, asked the judge to take special precautions to ensure that the County and Attorney's Office wouldn't wrongly seek the death penalty because…Almaleki is a Muslim.

Further, Little requested that the office make public the process it uses to determine whether to seek capital punishment. "An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs," Little wrote, referring to County Attorney Andrew Thomas' Christian faith.

Laura Reckart, a county prosecutor, responded that Little's concern about the "supposed bias" of the office's death penalty review process was "without legitimate factual or legal basis." She wrote that the state can seek the death penalty for any person convicted of first-degree murder if it can prove the existence of at least one aggravating factor, not because of religion.

However, the debate stopped there. On February 16th, Reckart filed a motion indicating prosecutors would not seek the death penalty. Mike Scerbo, a spokesman for the County Attorney's Office, issued the following statement on February 19th:

"The defendant is charged with first degree murder and, if convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison. As is in all first degree murder cases, the decision on whether to seek the death penalty is made on a case by case basis. Cultural considerations played no part in the decision not to seek the death penalty." In other words, the clear message is this: this was an “honor killing,” this was religiously motivated and we as Americans have to take this into consideration and, as such, we should remove the death penalty from the table in such cases."

There's more in the article, but I'll cut it off here.

Now, I understand all religions have stuff they do. But honestly? Had this been a Christian, a Mormon, a Jehovas Witness, any other religion? I would still be saying the same thing: RELIGION DOES NOT MATTER. YOU KILLED SOMEONE IN COLD BLOOD. You aren't in a country that says LOL OK YOU CAN KILL PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY SHAME YOU OR BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THEM, it's against the law here. Religion does not give you a free pass to murder people. Had they caught the guy who passed out the koolaid and murdered people before he offed himself, he would have gotten the same thing: the death penalty.

So, what say you, minions?

[psychokind]

honour kills happen all the time here. we have many turks from anatolia, and they're hillbillys.

[EverPhoenix]

i say hang the bastard.

[Freedan]

rainichan wrote:

Arizona, like 35 other states, currently has the death penalty and there are 133 people on death row.

There should be 134 now. He's charged with first degree murder, and happily confessed to it. What else is there to say?

Quote:

Obviously, a heinous crime such as one murdering one’s own child with premeditation would result in the death penalty if found guilty. But not in this case, no:the decision not to seek the death penalty was taken after Almaleki's attorney, Billy Little, a public defender, asked the judge to take special precautions to ensure that the County and Attorney's Office wouldn't wrongly seek the death penalty because…Almaleki is a Muslim.

What the hell difference does this make?

If he were Jewish, would the Jewish community be all up in arms, claiming persecution by Neo-Nazi courts? Now we're going to start going easier on everyone who isn't white, just to show how not racist we are?

Quote:

Further, Little requested that the office make public the process it uses to determine whether to seek capital punishment. "An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs," Little wrote, referring to County Attorney Andrew Thomas' Christian faith.

Ah, so they are trying to show how not racist they are. What the hell kind of reasoning is that? They're worried about racist undertones? How many of those on death row right now are white? They wouldn't be making some kind of special exception for this asshole just because they're looking to execute a foreigner.

Quote:

Laura Reckart, a county prosecutor, responded that Little's concern about the "supposed bias" of the office's death penalty review process was "without legitimate factual or legal basis." She wrote that the state can seek the death penalty for any person convicted of first-degree murder if it can prove the existence of at least one aggravating factor, not because of religion. However, the debate stopped there. On February 16th, Reckart filed a motion indicating prosecutors would not seek the death penalty. Mike Scerbo, a spokesman for the County Attorney's Office, issued the following statement on February 19th: "The defendant is charged with first degree murder and, if convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison. As is in all first degree murder cases, the decision on whether to seek the death penalty is made on a case by case basis. Cultural considerations played no part in the decision not to seek the death penalty."

Then what did? What makes this self-admitted murderer any different from the others on death row? He lives out the rest of his days on taxpayer dollars, instead of getting what he should. A single bullet is a lot cheaper than keeping him in prison for 50 years.

No, anyone with an ounce of brain matter can tell that their real motivation is fear of reprisal if they killed him. They were on to something with that "it'll look like a Christian city killing a Muslim" bullshit.

[tay120n64]

It does seem to be a skewed reasoning, but at the same time, had they given him the death penalty, it might have escalated into something larger.

Keyword: might

Perhaps that was what they were trying to avoid? But then again, its not like he was necessarily an evil person, just VERY CONVICTED IN HIS TRADITION. I don't really think the death sentence would have been appropriate either, despite that he is clearly guilty of murder in the first degree. I think life in prison is sufficient in this case.

[inferiare]

tay120n64 wrote:

It does seem to be a skewed reasoning, but at the same time, had they given him the death penalty, it might have escalated into something larger. Keyword: might Perhaps that was what they were trying to avoid? But then again, its not like he was necessarily an evil person, just VERY CONVICTED IN HIS TRADITION. I don't really think the death sentence would have been appropriate either, despite that he is clearly guilty of murder in the first degree. I think life in prison is sufficient in this case.

It's all fine and good if he's incredibly convicted in his beliefs. I am too. I'm also a pretty strong believer in the fact of if you kill your children, you should be killed in the same manner or worse.

Then again, life in prison might mean he gets himself into trouble in prison and he dies there, so... that could be adequate.

@Freedan: Yeah, agreed. I mean. Plenty of black people get the death penalty. Plenty of white people get the death penalty. Plenty of Asians get the death penalty. Everyone else gets the death penalty no matter what race or religion they are. Why should he be any different?

[EverPhoenix]

i think america might be hesitant to give him the death penalty because he is muslim- given the delicate situation in the middle-east. there are people in the world who will jump on that fact, completely ignore the fact that this person murdered his daughter, and use that as grounds for attacking the government in either a political or a physical sense.

although it may seem unfair at first, i think a good deal of thought was put into it. just as long as a 'life sentence' is interpreted as 'until he dies in there' and not just 25 years with most of it being paroled.

[Freedan]

EverPhoenix wrote:

i think america might be hesitant to give him the death penalty because he is muslim- given the delicate situation in the middle-east. there are people in the world who will jump on that fact, completely ignore the fact that this person murdered his daughter, and use that as grounds for attacking the government in either a political or a physical sense.

That's probably the case, but it makes no sense to me. It seems like such weak motivation. There are people who cry foul every time a black guy is arrested; that doesn't entitle them to more lenient sentences. Giving this guy a life sentence (which isn't often "life") because he's Muslim is wrong.

His religious or cultural beliefs have nothing to do with it, nor does the claim that it was a matter of honour. He intentionally murdered, and they're showing leniency when they shouldn't.

[EverPhoenix]

i think its more the other muslims who take their honour and religion very seriously who they are worried about. they arent above killing over honour, and the last thing america needs is more innocent blood spilled over something like this.

[Freedan]

I don't think it would serve as motivation for radical Muslims to kill innocent Americans. Radicals seem pretty happy to do that as it is, because some guy in a cave tells them to.

[EverPhoenix]

i think its more the chance that they think "oh he was killed because he did something according to religion" and react to that. its just more excuse for them to do something. despite the fact that law usually comes before religion anyway ~_~