COMMENTARY | The honor killing trial of Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and his son Hamed concluded with a guilty verdict on Sunday in Ontario, according to the Huffington Post. It took the jury 15 hours to convict the trio. They were each sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment with no chance of parole. This case demonstrates the need for new protections against religiously motivated crime.
The four victims killed lost their lives not just in the sense of physical death but also in the sense of future opportunity. The three sisters will never grow to adulthood, find spouses, have children, raise their own families or enjoy grandkids. They won't graduate from college, pursue careers or find fulfillment in life through their personal and professional efforts. They won't have lifelong hobbies or friendships. Shafia's first wife will never retire, have a life of her own or enjoy her golden years.
Why did these women die? Fox News reports the wire taps recorded him saying his children had hurt him, betrayed him and violated the family by dating and dressing immodestly. CNN reports the wire taps catching him congratulating himself and saying if his children returned to life a hundred times he would do the same to them, likely referring to their murder.
It's become apparent the victims were likely aware of the danger they faced. One of the murdered siblings, Geeti, was doing everything in her power to get social services to remove her from her home, according to CNN, acting out in school and begging social workers for help.
It's possible the social workers could not conceive of such a horrible act actually occurring. I could never imagine such an event -- but my town is not populated by Muslims. Muslim honor killings are on the rise, according to the Middle East Forum. They have happened in the U.S.; the first recorded incidence of which was caught on wiretap by the FBI, according to the New York Times, actually hearing the murder.
Nations that value the rule of law need criminal code specifically targeting these terrifying crimes. Freedom of religion is a treasured thing, but it reaches its limits long before murdering one's children. This is a combination of homicide and hate crime and deserves the sternest punishments possible -- life without parole almost seems inadequate.
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