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Could Koua Fong Lee have been wrongfully discriminated against in a MN state court?

Could this have been racism? When Koua was sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2008 for a car accident involving a 1996 Camry with a sticking accelerator problem? The accident in 2006 resulted in the deaths of 3 people. Could Koua have been discriminated against by a racist judge and jury for being an "Asian driver"? There is a negative stigma against Asian drivers in the United States where many stereotype them in the wrongful belief that all Asians are bad drivers. I believe that this is racism. It looks like the problem was the car all along and he was telling the truth when he said the brakes failed. The accelerator pedal is the same part number on that 1996 Camry same as a 2006 model. Could this have very well been racism in the United States at its worst?

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  • 1 decade ago

    Well, the average sentence length for negligent vehicular homicide is about 3 years. Considering that this was not alcohol or drug related, an 8 year sentence by the judge was pretty extreme.

    So yes, the excessive sentence was probably racially motivated. But I don't think its related to perception of Asians as bad drivers. Rather, look at the race of the victims and the race of the judge. If the victim and the judge (or jury) were the same race (as I suspect both are African-American), then that's probably why he was racially discriminated against.

  • 1 decade ago

    It's a 1996 Camry, just because the newer cars do that doesn't mean the old ones do too. It's the same part number but it isn't used in the same way, newer camrys have electronic sensors that determine the pedal position, the old camrys are directly connected by mechanical means to the throttle body. Also, there is a large stereotype here due to a large hmong population the immigrated here in the 90's, however, I doubt that would mean anyone would use those stereotypes to determine whether he did it on purpose or was atleast at fault for the incident.

  • 1 decade ago

    I had a 1990 Camry that I had set on cruise control and out of no where it started excellerating. I strongly believe he was telling the truth and this poor man's case needs to be re-examined. Yes the newer makes & models are having more problems, but the older ones did too.

  • 1 decade ago

    I don't know if it is racism or not, but clearly this case needs to be looked at again. From what I have heard about this case, this seems to be an accident, and the jurors and the judge and the prosecutor in this case need to go to jail. Set this man free TODAY!!!

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