Crime Stories

What is the difference between the consequences of a hate crime and a regular crime?

A hate crime is when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation. A crime is the breaking of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, may ultimately prescribe a conviction. My question is, what exactly are the consequences for a hate crime and a crime? Should the consequences for a hate crime be strengthened?

Public Comments

1. Avout 15 years
2. There is no difference in the outcome of the crimes regardless of motivation. Motive is useful in establishing guilt. There is no point in hate crime laws. Violence is generated by hate. All violence is hateful.
3. An important component to hate crimes legislation is raising the awareness in the general public that a problem exists. Hand in hand with this is educating the public that the targeted individuals are just like them and deserve equal protection. Too often in the past laws were NOT enforced equally. For example: Because of the social stigma attached with transsexualism, crimes against transsexual people many times went completely unpunished. It was like society had judged us as being less than human and disposable. We were, and continue to be, targets of all kinds of hate crimes. Hundreds of us were murdered over the last 60 years, but nobody was ever convicted of murdering a transsexual woman until this spring! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Zapata Crimes against LGBT people have too often been ignored and swept under the rug. That's not right, unfair and unAmerican. Hate crimes legislation, like the Matthew Shepard Bill, is a public pronouncement that violence against certain groups will no longer be tolerated. It would be nice is we lived in a perfect world where everyone is treated the same. But the fact is we don't and throughout history certain groups have become unfairly targeted simply for who they are. Hate crimes legislation is necessary to ensure equal treatment and to educate.
4. - Consequences: Penalties, under both the existing law and the LLEHCPA (Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, originally called the "Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act"), for hate crimes involving firearms are prison terms of up to 10 years, while crimes involving kidnapping, sexual assault, or murder can bring life in prison. - Strengthened?: I for one am against hate crime legislation, but to be clear, I am also against crime. Is one murder better than another? Is a person who takes a life for a pair of sneakers deserve less prison than someone who kills through stereotype and hatred. I believe the answer is no. Motive is not an element of murder. I would prosecute both criminals to the fullest extent of the law. The argument stating "equality" is the goal of creating a statute that says a crime against a LGBT individual is punishable by 10 years longer than a crime committed for any other reason against any other non-protected class of person is inconsistent with any definition of equality I can think of. Note: I hold no bias or prejudice against any of the protected classes noted in this question. I wish them nothing but peace and safety.