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I never quite understood what constitutes a "hate crime" and why the punishment for one is greater than a good ole friendly crime. What does that say to the victim of as non hate crime (whatever that means); basically that their pain and suffering isn't as worthy of the pain and suffering of a victim of a hate crime?
I agree. Although I am a liberal, I believe that a crime, e.g., assault, even murder, is a terrible act and derives from a malicious state of mind. Aren't they all a crimes that arise out of hate?
I never quite understood what constitutes a "hate crime" and why the punishment for one is greater than a good ole friendly crime. What does that say to the victim of as non hate crime (whatever that means); basically that their pain and suffering isn't as worthy of the pain and suffering of a victim of a hate crime?
The primary reason for designating a crime a hate crime is because some local law enforcement agencies didn't do their due dillagence when investigating/prosecuting a crime when the victim was a minority.... be that race, religion, or sexual orientation. To insure that these crimes were investigated/prosecuted fairly, designating them as hate crimes allowed the federal law enforancement agencies to become involved.
For a quick reference, think civil rights in the 50s and 60s.
Doesn't the "hate crime" legislation also change the sentencing for whatever given crime? I believe it is an enhancement and usually results in a more substantial sentence then an identical crime without the "hate crime" aspect.
Although, I am not a lawyer or judge, it just seems logical.
I'm sure there's a shark, er, i mean lawyer posting around here somewhere that could be more specific.
If a stranger robs my house, it's highly unlikely that he did it out of "hate". Burglaries are generally crimes of opportunity.
If you drive over the speed limit, you've broken the law. Does it mean you hate the road? Or the drivers around you?
Duh. My examples only dealt with crimes against persons like assault or murder. I doubt there are any burglary or speeding crimes that are classified as hate crimes. Same goes for any crimes without a specific mens rea intending harm against a person or a specific person's property.
I think a hate crime is worse because you are are doing something intentionally to create an atmosphere of fear for an entire group of people based on their race/sex/religion/sexuality etc. If I (I'm a tiny Latina chick) attack a white person and start yelling out derogatory things about white people, would you see a thread about it on city data? Most definitely. Because it has created fear for an entire community of people based on their race. I'll admit there does seem to be a double standard when it comes to white people however.
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posting around here somewhere that could be more specific.
