“Defense attorney Valerie Masters, who vowed to appeal the conviction, said Mustafa was also a victim of violence. Growing up in a strict Muslim community in New York City, Mustafa was beaten daily by his father, she wrote in court papers. His mother was powerless to intervene because she, too, was the victim of horrific abuse by the man, who became her husband in an arranged marriage typical of their Palestinian homeland.” This presentation makes Masters sound positively “Islamophobic”: a “strict Muslim community” in which Mustafa “was beaten daily by his father”? An “arranged marriage typical of their Palestinian homeland”? In any other context Masters would be denounced as a racist, bigoted hatemonger.
But she is actually playing a canny game: she could have said that Mustafa grew up in a “strict community” in which he was beaten daily, and that his parents had an arranged marriage as was “typical in their homeland,” without drawing attention to Mustafa’s Muslim background. By making a point of doing so, she is signaling that to give this poor victim Fares Mustafa a 100-year sentence is another manifestation of “Islamophobia,” and if Florida officials want to avoid these charges of “Islamophobia,” they should reduce his sentence.
“Wellington man sentenced to 100 years for murder,” by Jane Musgrave, Palm Beach Post, July 21, 2014 (thanks to Creeping Sharia):
WEST PALM BEACH — A 33-year-old Wellington man on Monday was sentenced to 100 years in prison for fatally shooting a Jupiter man and critically wounding the man’s girlfriend during a 2010 break-in at the duplex they shared.
Looking at Fares Mustafa, who was wearing a blue jail jumpsuit with his arms and legs shackled, Palm Beach County Court Judge Barry Cohen called Mustafa’s decision to shoot Katie Coonrod as she cowered in a closet reprehensible.
“For what?” Cohen asked. “To steal money? Drugs?”
However, he rejected pleas from prosecutors and victims to hand Mustafa two consecutive life terms.
Mindful that a jury in June convicted Mustafa of second-degree murder, not first-degree, pre-meditated murder, for killing 31-year-old John Anderson, Cohen said life sentences weren’t appropriate. Mustafa also was convicted of attempted first-degree murder for shooting Coonrod.
Kenneth Anderson insisted that two life sentences weren’t sufficient punishment for the man who killed his brother, the father of a young girl. “I would prefer death,” he said, adding that he recognized that wasn’t possible.
Too traumatized to talk, Coonrod wrote Cohen a letter, explaining how her life has been unalterably changed since Mustafa broke into the apartment, killed her fiance and shot her three times after she fled into a walk-in closet.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t replay that night over and over again,” she wrote. “When you killed John, you killed a huge part of me. I live the life of a person I don’t even recognize anymore.”
Marcia Scheppler, who lived next door to Coonrod and Anderson, called Mustafa “soul-less.” She and her then-12-year-old daughter, Melanie, were sleeping when a stray bullet crashed through the wall and came to rest in their mattress.
Even though they immediately moved out of the duplex on Allen Street in the Heights of Jupiter, Mustafa robbed them of their ability to feel safe in their own home, both said.
Defense attorney Valerie Masters, who vowed to appeal the conviction, said Mustafa was also a victim of violence. Growing up in a strict Muslim community in New York City, Mustafa was beaten daily by his father, she wrote in court papers. His mother was powerless to intervene because she, too, was the victim of horrific abuse by the man, who became her husband in an arranged marriage typical of their Palestinian homeland.
When Mustafa’s mother finally escaped by moving Mustafa and some of his four sisters here, he rebelled from his strict upbringing by embracing drugs and alcohol. His three children were taken away from him after one of his children fell off a second-floor balcony when Mustafa’s wife was in a drunken stupor, Masters wrote.
Mustafa told police he broke into Anderson’s apartment after a friend told him he could find oxycodone and Ecstasy pills and at least $100,000 inside. During the trial, Masters argued that another man staying at the duplex, Andrew Thomas, was the triggerman. She pointed out that when nurses at the hospital asked Coonrod who shot her, she wrote, “Drew.”
However, Coonrod testified she was sure Thomas hadn’t shot her. Further, she said, while she knew Anderson sold prescription drugs she was never involved in the illicit operation.
larry s says
Well call me a bleeding heart liberal if you will. But I think the defense attorney made an eloquent appeal based on Mustafa’s tough childhood, and I hope an appeals court will give him the benefit of the doubt. It just so happens I’m working on a blockbuster novel now about the debilitating effects of the Prophet Muhammad’s childhood growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood and the psychologically damaging effects of epilepsy.
Reduce the sentence to 99 years!
Ed says
Happy to comply; you are a bleeding heart liberal! No one else could be obtuse. Boo, hoo. He should have been executed.
Angemon says
Interesting. Not “household” but “community”. I wonder if Miss Masters realizes the implications of it.
gravenimage says
Important observation, Angemon.
Jovial Joe says
No, ultimately she’d fall back on ‘it’s the culture’, not the religion, get-out clause.
Ivan Bogdanov says
Sheep with brown spot on nose not capable of original thought. Only capable do bleat, bleat, bleat……..
More Later….
Walter Sieruk says
For making a defense by saying “That was a how he was brought up” is worse the a poor and terrible excuse. It absurd and outrageous. That’s no excuse at all. For a person to say “That was how I was raised” Makes no sense at all. For a man or woman do reach an age the he or she should be able to think to himself or herself. That applies to anything , be it religious or political or something else. A person needs to be aware of different worldviews. To do this that same person should check out different views of things from many sources. That a man or women is very ignorant of different beliefs and convictions is no reason for doing wrong what so ever. As for this Muslim male who murdered in the claim that it was his upbringing,as in, “that made him do it” or” drove him to it.” Only services and an example that it must be true in what they say, being that “Evil is always looking for an excuse
Yolanda says
Excellent! Then all on death role also have an excuse.
Reality Check says
People from certain parts of the world must never be allowed to immigrate to civilization. They only bring the chaos they escaped from with them.
Where will this world go if we start giving lenient sentences to everybody whose upbringing was based on totally different values? This reminds me of a case in Britain where some Muslim perv was let go after rubbing himself against his female colleagues “because he grew up in a very conservative Muslim household and had no idea what’s right and what’s wrong in communicating with women outside his family”.
You can take someone out of the wilderness but you can’t take the wilderness out of them.
Buraq says
Hey, c’mon! What’s with this 100 years schtik? It’s too brutal. Islam made the guy what he is – – a murdering clown!
Reduce the sentence this instant — to 99 years! The State, like Allah, can be merciful.
Jovial Joe says
Remember that rich kid who was spared jail time because he suffered from ‘affluenza’? How about ‘Allahuenza’ for this goof?
Arjay says
This kind of thing is playing out in courts in the USA, Canada, Australia and throughout Europe. Muslims are not responsible for the crimes they commit because with an Islamic background the things they “do” are not crimes in Islam, prosecuting them for their crimes is Islamophobic or the perp is a victim of Islamic violence and should not be held responsible if they “act out”
Think of it this way… he wins. For the rest of his worthless life he will get halal meals and all the teen-age boys he can gang rape in the shower.
To bad he wasn’t given the death penalty.
Mirren10 says
First of all, regardless of the mohammedan aspects of the case, this kind of ‘defence’, under *any* circumstances, makes me want to sick up.
There are **thousands**, probably **millions**, of people who have grown up in abusive homes, and who do **not** go on to perpetuate that horror.
Being brought up in an abusive environment does **not** give anyone an excuse for being abusive in their turn. People have free will, they can **choose** which path to take.
There doesn’t seem to be any particularly **religious** element in this scumbag’s actions, I mean, he doesn’t seem to have invoked the koran, or mohammed, or ‘allah’, as reasons for his evil actions.
I think he’s just your common or garden pos, but this cynical. unethical and totally unprincipled bitch, Masters, is trying to get him off on the basis of his mohammedan background.
Which really tells us all we need to know, about the liberal leftards, doesn’t it ? They have absolutely no integrity, and the truth is not in them.
On the one hand, creatures such as Masters will argue that talking about violent mohammedan fathers, and complicit mohammedan communities, and arranged marriages is ‘islamophobic’, but, when it suits her agenda, will use exactly the same arguments on the other side. They make me physically ill.
At least this vile piece of excrement has received the sentence he deserves. I hope the bastard dies in jail.
islamisdeath says
I don’t understand, islam is peaceful so how could he be a victim of a violent strict muslim community? I’m confused.
Stupid twit defending this filth. Honey he thinks you should be home scrubbing toilets, birthing babies, and getting a good beating now and again by your husband.
Ask him if he has any plans to leave this violent community of faith twit!
gravenimage says
Florida Muslim gets 100 years for murder; defense attorney vows to appeal, says killer is victim of strict Muslim upbringing
………………………………
Ultimately, it is John Anderson and Katie Coonrod who were the victims of Fares Mustafa’ strict Muslim upbringing.
Also, notice the implication—that this crime was the result of his “rebelling from his strict upbringing”, but it is not.
Because while drugs and alcohol may well be forbidden in Islam, but robbing and murdering the “filthy Kuffar” certainly is not.
PJG says
So:
If a Muslim claims to commit a crime in the name of Islam we are asked to believe the crime had nothing to do with Islam.
But:
If a Muslim commits a crime and doesn’t mention Islam we are led to believe his religion is at fault.
I see…
BC says
Surely if you have the ‘perfect’ religion, founded by the most ‘perfect man who ever lived’ this should not happen. Wherever Muslims are found there should be sweetness, love and light. What has gone wrong? The instruction manual is what is wrong.
Cindy says
This guy as like he was born in a different country. Yes, his parents may have taught him about islam but he was born here and more than likely went to school here. He came in contact with other people he knew right from wrong. Now he wants to blame everything but himself for the things that he has done wrong. He is trying to play the victim but he IS the bad guy!!!!!
Walter Sieruk says
This Muslim murder needs to become a man and accept responsibility for his own actions. He should not make that lame excuse of blaming his actions on his upbringing.
Duck says
If he were raised in a violent KKK household, would we even be talking about this?
Nan says
In that case it depends on the identity of his victim.
Uncle Vladdi says
It’s all true – they are all victims, as slaves of allah.
Sura 4:77: Those who whined “Hold back your hands (from attacking)” were corrected:
“War is compulsory for us – the good and bad both come from allah!”
Of course, when your version of a “god” is generally “everything!” then it’s also specifically “nothing!” Existentialism IS nihilism!
😉