90% of white ppl are nasty #HATE THEM

The murder of an Australian college student in Duncan, Oklahoma is raising questions about why the three young men accused of the crime are not facing federal hate crime charges.
Court documents list James Edwards Jr., 15, and Chancey Luna, 16 as black. Both teenagers are charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of Christopher Lane. Lane was white.Show more

Investigators say the teenagers, along with Michael Jones, 18, were all involved in the shooting. Duncan police Chief Danny Ford said Jones told police, "We were bored and we wanted something to do and he was our target and we wanted to kill somebody."

Earlier this year Edwards tweeted, "90% of white ppl are nasty. #HATE THEM."

That tweet was followed by one in July referencing the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. "Ayeee I knocced out 5 woods since Zimmerman court!:) lol sh** ima keep sleepin sh**! #ayeeee."

The word "woods" is described online as sometimes used as a derogatory word for white people.

The social media sites for Edwards and Luna include references to gangs, drugs and other racially charged posts.

Conservative news sites have asked why the tweets and posts are not being considered to turn this case into a federal hate-crime. Many conservative groups have questioned whether the case is receiving the national outrage that came during the Zimmerman trial following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. and the Rainbow Push Coalition released a statement on Lane's death and say the violence in the black community "disproportionately affects every facet of black life in America."

The statement goes on to say, "We must learn to live together in peace or we will most assuredly die apart in our own neglect."

A White House spokesman said Wednesday he was not familiar with the Lane shooting. The President did make public statements following the death of Martin and the not-guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial. The spokesman did say President Obama, while not weighing in on this particular case, has spoken about the impact of violence across the country.

"It's much easier to talk about something being a hate crime than it is to actually go to court and prove that beyond a reasonable doubt," said Former US Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma Robert McCampbell.

McCampbell told Fox 25 Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks has chosen the correct trial strategy and doesn't need to pursue a hate crime case. "To prove a hate crime, you have to prove not only was it a murder but that it was a racially motivated murder," McCampbell said.

That still leaves a question about what to do with tweets that show Edwards telling the world his views on white people?

"That doesn't tell you anything about the other two defendants and it doesn't tell you anything about the day of this particular crime," McCampbell said.

During his time as a federal prosecutor McCampbell said he never filed hate crime charges, though there were cases where it was considered. He said choosing to pursue cases as hate crimes adds a burden of proof that risks losing the entire case.

"You concentrate on the crime in front of you and you prove that crime and there's no need to take on that extra burden of proving it was racially motivated," McCampbell told Fox 25.

McCampbell says just because the suspects are black and the victim was white is not enough to risk the case by adding a racial component to trial.

In this case, investigators are working to connect the teenagers to the murder, but have yet to recover the murder weapon. Police have said one teenager has confessed details of the crime. Jones, while still facing life in prison, is charged with lesser crimes. McCampbell said it is not uncommon for prosecutors to show leniency on cooperating witnesses.

McCampbell said police must work to corroborate Jones' statements to make his testimony more reliable for a jury.