The Dr. Sex Graffiti sentencing hearing came to an end yesterday. He was sentenced to six months' house arrest, will spend 10 months on probation afterward, serve 160 hours of community service, pay approximately $6,000 restitution for cleanup costs and receive anger counseling. All of this was in stark contrast to the defense attorneys and the states plea agreement to give Dr. Sex, whose real name is Karta Khalsa, a deferred sentence.
Just what is a deferred sentence? You are found guilty of the crime however if you get in no other trouble for a specified period of time the conviction is dropped from your record, It is like it never happened. Can you believe that? The man causes over six thousand dollars in damage in this case alone, not to mention the thousands if not hundreds of thousands of damage in cases he is suspected in across the state and if not for Judge Steven Pfeffer he would have basically walked in this case.
I commend our detectives who worked very hard on solving a case that very often goes unsolved. They were very upset when they learned of the plea deal and took it upon themselves to go and testify as to just how serious a graffiti tagger Mr. Karta is. Detectives are used to cases that they work hard on having plea deals made and the criminals getting away with little or no consequences. Many times they have no say in the matter. This time they made sure they were as least heard and I believe they were instrumental in Judge Pfeffer's decision to not just accept the plea agreement as is usually the norm in these types of cases.
Karta Khalsa will most likely strike again. He may change his name from Dr. Sex and he may revert to smaller graffiti acts not being as bold as the US 84-285 case but he still has not grown up.
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4 comments:
Graffiti will never stop no matter what anyone thinks. The masses have and will always use the street to connect and communicate with each other. Most serious graffiti artists do so in order to maintain an unique and specialized art that was created by the american youth. Some use it to reach the masses. Some just want to get themselves or a group known. And some actually want to create beauty in the streets.
Everything is now apart of the urban landscape. That landscape belongs to everyone. Everyone has the right to interact with that landscape. We have the right to mark it, you have the right to erase it. Most "taggers" don't follow rules. But some have a code of conduct that they follow(no residences, no cars, no historic buildings, no painting over murals, ect.).
Do not judge so quickly. What is art to you, looks like crap to me.
What is attractive to you, may look fake and obtrusive to me.
I'm not saying anything is right or wrong, I'm just saying we have the right to mark the wall. If I crashed my car into the very same wall, intending on creating a visual disturbance worthy of ponder, you certainly wouldn't talk to me about beauty. You would wonder why I crashed and the wall may eventually get fixed. But would it really be that much of an eyesore in the meantime. Just because you see descruction isn't it possible that another could see something even perhaps beauty?
I propose that people like you reevalute your stance on graffiti and look at how one could use things like graffiti to enrich one's community. What do you want in the hands of tomorrows youth, a gun or a spraycan?
if you think graffiti is beautiful you should buy your own wall to paint. If the wall does not belong to you, and you alter it without the owner's consent or against the owner's wishes, it is valid to call that alteration destructive.
Saying that the streets and the "urban landscape" belongs to everyone doesn't make it so.
we DID buy that wall, writers pay taxes like everyone else, at least most do. rather than ask if a writer has the right to paint on public on public property, ask yourself if you really have the right to tell him/her not to. you dont, and even if you did, its futile to think you can stop graffiti.
people who still complain about graff and think they can stop it are like boomers who still cant use the internet, its hilarious. get with the times, more people are writing now than ever, from all races, cultures, classes and backgrounds. people want to express themselves, be recognized, and while the judge may consider it childish...consider this:
CHILDEREN, not adults, ask for permission to do what they want. maybe thats the world you would like to live in, where everything locked up and regulated. many of us, however, would like to exercise our freedom to communicate with one another.
i'm not defending tagging churches, cars, homes. but painting your name on a retaining wall is hardly destruction.
i find it funny how strict laws have become on writers nowadays, i suppose now that there is more money in the economy people are scared of having thier precious property "de-valued" in any way. a little greedy if you ask me. did DOT or city council ask any of the people who would have to look at that retaining wall if they could build it? i doubt it.
i conclude by saying this:
Mr. sheriff, every time you buy a sprite, big mac, coke, watch comedy central (this list goes on longer than you'd think), look at the packaging, you are supporting a writer. graffiti secured itself as a part of American culture many years ago. it will never die, and in turn writers and law enforcement will forever struggle to coexist.
just like we need police to protect us while we sleep, we need rebels to remind us of what we as humans are capable of.
just trying to bring another viewpoint to your blog sir.
WORD UP!!! NUFF SAID!!! U STATED UR POINT AND I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THE SAME THING.... PERFECTLY EXECUTED, AND THE OTHER DUDE #2 OR WHATEVER HE'S OBVIOUSLY NOT WITH THE TIMES THEESE DAYS! GRAFF WILL FOREVER LIVE, FROM ALASKA TO ANTARCTICA- FROM HAWAII TO AUSTRALLIA ITS NON STOP... THERES SOMEONE PAINTIN GRAFFITI every second of the day i believe... and if not than god DROP A LIGHTNING OUT OF THE SKY AND STRIKE ME DEAD NOW!
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