HOUSTON CONGRESSWOMAN DEFENDS CALLING JASMINE’S MURDER A HATE CRIME

Sheila Jackson Lee insists calling Jasmine’s murder a hate crime was not irresponsible

Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, like Jesse Jackson, never passes up a photo op.

On Saturday Lee showed up at a rally in the Walmart parking lot near where 7-year-old Jasmine Barnes was shot dead by a man described as white. She held an impromptu press conference in which she called for the formation of a national law enforcement task force devoted to catch the little black girl’s killer. She said that since the shooting appeared to be a hate crime, Jasmine’s killer may have fled out of state. Addressing the crowd, Lee said:

“Who would do such a dastardly deed, and steal the life of a little girl?” This is no longer a Houston case. This is the case that has taken national proportions and so you are gathered here for the nation to see that there is no room for failure.”

Alas, poor Sheila. Jasmine’s murder was not a hate crime. A couple of black gangbangers did the dastardly deed.

Standing next to Sheriff Ed Gonzales during a press conference on Sunday, Lee was asked if it wasn’t irresponsible for her to have called Jasmine’s murder a hate crime. She replied that she did not believe it irresponsible to suggest the little girl’s death may have been a hate crime. Lee, who usually speaks in a loud and clear voice, barely mumbled:

“Nothing is irresponsible when it comes to the loss of a precious 7-year-old. As many in the community did, they expressed that it seemed to have the criteria of that.”

In other words, it’s OK for Sheila Jackson Lee to fan the flames of racial hatred so that she can keep her name in the news and her image before the public’s eyes.

What possible excuse could Lee have had for nudging herself next to Sheriff Gonzales at his press conference. She was not one of the sheriff’s investigators. She played no role in the capture of Jasmine’s murderers. Lee simply tool advantage of a poor little girl’s murder to get her mug before the cameras. This woman has no shame and is one monumental embarrassment to the city of Houston.