By: Rod Swift
Re: More Christanic Terror 4

Yet another identity white-supremacist Christian, this time slaying
black people.

A Christian with "pure, unmitigated evil"!

So much for a God of Love, eh?  Look at his followers.

And so much for the brouhaha about gays in the military.  Apparently,
gays aren't allowed to serve openly in the military, but neo-Nazi
skinhead, white supremacist murderers are.

Someone simply has to let William Cohen know about the screwed up
priorities in the military!

Enjoy!

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06:50 PM ET 03/06/97

US judge imposes life sentence in race killings


        (Adds more details, clarifies sentences consecutive not
concurrent)

            By Knight Chamberlain

            FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Reuter) - A white former paratrooper who
prosecutors called ``pure, unmitigated evil'' was sentenced to
life in prison Thursday for gunning down two black people in a
racially motivated killing.

            In a rambling address to the court before he was sentenced,
ex-Army soldier James Burmeister apologized to the families of
the victims but called the case against him ``smoke and
mirrors'' and said his fight for justice was not over.

            Superior Court Judge Coy Brewer sentenced Burmeister, 21, to
two consecutive life prison terms after a jury deadlocked 11-1
in favor of executing him.

            Burmeister, who will have to serve at least 50 years on the
two murder convictions before becoming eligible for parole, also
was sentenced to 16 to 20 years for conspiracy to commit murder.

            ``We're delighted the son of a bitch will be put away for
the rest of his life,'' prosecutor Edward Grannis said.

            Burmeister was found guilty last Thursday in the racially
motivated slayings of Michael James, 36, and Jackie Burden, 27,
on Dec. 7, 1995. The jury found he shot the couple at close
range as they walked along a street in Fayetteville, which
adjoins Fort Bragg, home to the Army's elite 82nd Airborne
Division.

            In a halting speech to the court, his voice occasionally
cracking, Burmeister apologized to the victim's families for the
pain they suffered but criticized the state's case against him.

            ``If the state has chosen to blame me for this, so be it for
now,'' Burmeister said. ``I'm not conceding and I'm not going to
quit. It's not over by any means.

            The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for about seven
hours over two days before saying it was hung. Once the jury was
declared deadlocked, Brewer could not impose a death sentence by
state law.

            Jurors who spoke to reporters after the hearing said they
had deadlocked 11-1 in favor of the death penalty. The holdout
was a woman.

             ``I'm sure when she told the court that she could impose
the death penalty if it was warranted, that when faced with the
reality, she could not do it,'' juror Darcy Day, 28, said.

            Jurors said they hoped the result of the trial would send a
message to hate groups that such violence would not be
tolerated.

            Prosecutors said during the trial that Burmeister
represented ``pure, unmitigated evil,'' and in final statements
argued that no evidence was presented to indicate Burmeister's
hatred for blacks, Jews and other minorities had changed.

            They said Burmeister wanted to earn a ``spider web'' tattoo,
a skinhead symbol police say represents the killing of a gay or
black person. White supremacist and bomb-making literature and a
Nazi flag were found at Burmeister's trailer.

            Defense lawyers said the sudden death of Burmeister's sister
led to his heavy drinking, stunting his emotional growth to the
point that he was swayed by racist skinhead rhetoric that led
him to kill.

            Burmeister was drinking in a bar on the base with fellow
soldiers Randy Meadows and Malcolm Wright before the murders.
Meadows pleaded guilty to involvement in the crime and became
the prosecution's key witness.

            Relatives of the two victims who spoke outside the court
after sentence was passed said they did not accept Burmeister's
apology.

            ``This man is sick. he really needs help,'' said Nancy
James, widow of Michael James.

            ``The crime called for the ultimate punishment. I do not
understand Mr. Burmeister's remarks. I do not accept his
apology,'' said Georgia Burden, Jackie Burden's aunt. ``It was
too little, too late.''
         ^REUTER@
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