Terrorist charges were brought by Prosecutors in Mexico against two motorcyclists because their loud exhaust pipes backfired and caused a sound like gunshots that sent a crowd into a panicked where people were injured. It was crowded in San Luis Potosi because people in the state were attending a weekend Holy Saturday event. When the motorcyclists exhaust startled everyone they went into a stampeded. There were no fatal injuries however, some suffered bruises and falls.
San Luis Potosi’s State spokesman Juan Antonio Hernandez said Wednesday that the motorcycles’ witnesses said the two men purposely gunned their engines even after the panic started to make it sound as though gunshots were going off. The incident occurred Saturday, and the two were formally charged Tuesday.
The head of the state’s human rights commission called the charges excessive. Do you think the charges are excessive? Terrorism charges? What about reckless?
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexican-state-charges-motorcyclists-terrorism-16118155
This charge actually seems a little ridiculous. Terrorism. Really? I could see lots of things that these people could be charged with but they were being a nuisance and scared people. Had the situation been worse and people were, for example, trampled to death, perhaps it would have been more appropriate. But even then it seems that a manslaughter would still be a more appropriate charge. Also, it seems unlikely that this is a reoccurring problem that they are really trying to make stop happening. It seems very unlikely that these charges will stick and certainly not end in a conviction.
I think that terrorist charges for this type of case are definitely a stretch. The important fact that has to be determined in this case is whether or not they intended this type of result. Did they purposely cause the backfires or was it simply an accident? If it was an accident I see no reason why there should be any charges. Although the backfires may have resulted in temporary chaos there is no way for that to have been prevented if this was merely an accident. If the backfires were not an accident I think there may be a charge for some sort of reckless or negligent behavior, but terrorism is quite a strong accusation. In addition, there were no serious injuries and I think that fact should be considered. The crime of terrorism has taken on a very harsh meaning in the past decade and I think it would be too severe to label these motorcyclists as terrorists, whether the backfires were intentional or not.