Hate Crimes: The Case Of Mr. Byrd Jr.

Although we are no longer in the 19th century, hate crimes are still much alive in the 21st century. In late August, early September 2006, an African American student of Jena High School located in Jena, Louisiana asked if he could sit under a tree on campus that was commonly known for only white students to sit under (Christie, 2008). The very next day after the African American student sat under that specific tree, three nooses were hanging from the tree. The school principal of Jena High School found out that three white students were responsible for this incident. Even though expulsion was recommended for the three white students, the superintendent of the school only suspended them for three days.

Recently, in a response to an increase in violence, the state of Wisconsin passes a law that enhances the penalty for any offense committed against a victim where the crime is committed because of hatred for the victim’s race, sex, or religion. Prior to discussing whether or not this penalty enhancement violates the civil jurisdiction given to the state from God; one must first provide the foundation of the jurisdiction of the state from the biblical principles. First, Christ recognizes that God has all authority “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God” Roman 13:1 (King James Online). In addition, Christ recognizes jurisdiction “and Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the

Hate crimes has become an increasing problem here in the united states ranging from racial hatred to gender discrimination but what are hate crimes? According to Dr. Jack McDevitt, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston Hate crimes are message crimes, Hate crimes are defined as crimes that are violent act against people, property, or organizations because of the group to which they belong or identify with. The coined term “hate crimes” was first used No matter how many different definitions there are for hate crimes but we all can agree that hate crimes are wrong and immoral. But within hate crimes they are many different types of hate crimes. One of the main reasons that people commit hate crimes would

With all things considered, if I were a judge and ultimately had to rule on the constitutionality of hate crime laws, I would most likely rule in favor of them. However, I would definitely hold some of the arguments for hate crime laws in a much higher regard than some of the others made. As we have read in the book, there are quite a couple of different arguments for the creation of hate crime laws. These arguments typically fall under the broad categories of retribution, symbolic effect and deterrence. Overall, the concepts of retribution and symbolic effect can hold their ground in my eyes, however the deterrence argument has been criticized in multiple fields as being rather weak and at times, flawed.

On June 7, 1998, 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. of Texas accepted a ride from three white men, who then beat him severely, urinated on him, chained him by his ankles to the back of their pick-up truck, dragged him for three miles into the countryside, and dumped his corpse in front of an African-American cemetery (Graczyk). A little over a year later, a jury sentenced ring leader John King to death by lethal injection (“Man Executed for Dragging Death of James Byrd”). While this particular case may give the appearance that perpetrators of hate crimes receive appropriate punishment, almost a decade later, one particular case demonstrates the inequity in the application of hate crime punishments: In 2007, Sean Kennedy of Charleston, South

Crimes based off of hate is a crime that is caused based off a bias towards a person or race. These crimes are called hate crimes and effect people all around of all ages and is a bais that is not easily forgotten. There are laws specifically for this crime that one can be persecuted for just for people who have disagreement about another person’s religion and race , and why we need them in our society. Hate crimes in my opinion are wrong and not needed in this world but can not be forgotten because of history between people. If the history between the people of this world was different then maybe these laws would be unnecessary but we need them to protect the good people in the world who didn’t ask to be different.

While in prison criminals become part of the gang or a member of the gang's victim pool. Race and culture seem to be the major factors in the victimization of inmates. The inmate may not be racist when he enters the system, however the need for survival against other inmates may force these characteristics to become more prominent. In the summer of 1998, a young man named William King was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of James Byrd Jr. Byrd was a black man from Jasper County, Texas, whom was bound at the ankles and dragged to death behind a truck. Why would this young man commit such a terrible and seemingly racist crime? Most would agree that it was his time spent in prison that led William King to take the life of

In the last few years, Florida has generated attention for many hate crimes. In 2013 Tavares Spencer, a resident of Tampa was found guilty of first degree attempted murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison for attacking a woman after she revealed she was transgender. Hate crimes are criminal acts of hatred towards individuals or groups because of religion, race, sexual orientation or other personal attributes. If the criminal act was motivated simply by the defendant's prejudice or hatred of the victim because of these factors, the criminal act qualifies as a hate crime.

Trump as the president-elect has divided the country more than it has brought it’s people together. ‘There has always been hate and divisions,’ some would say. While this is true, this kind of prevalence has not been at the forefront of the political, personal, social, etc. sphere in a long while. Headlines are becoming more trigger inducing and there has been an uproar of hate crimes across the nation. While both sides have contributed to the hatefulness, the way that the hate is manifested is more rampant among supporters of Trump. This is seen through the way that the hate crime rate has gone up since November 8th. In more ways than one Trump’s election into office has given these people that have hate in them a pass, of sorts, to act on that hate and victimize others.

On Monday, August 14, 2017 a very controversial protest lead by white supremacists occurred Charlottesville, Virginia. The reason why this protest transpired was because the city of Charlottesville decided to remove the statue of the Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, from one of the city’s parks. The groups had met at Charlottesville to protest the decision to bring down the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Among the protests were activist Richard Spencer and former “Ku Klux Klan” (KKK) leader David Duke. They began to riot in the streets, people began to bash cars and hit people with bats, and fights broke out. One female got hit by a car and died when a car drove in the crowd.

On April 28, 2009, Senator, Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat from Massachusetts, introduced to the 111th CONGRESS, 1st Session S. 909, The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The purpose of this act was to “provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes” (Kennedy, 2009 p.1). Assistance other than financial assistance, in general, at the request of State, local or, tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that , constitutes a crime of violence; constitutes a felony under the State, local, or tribal laws; and is

Critical preface: I choose to explore the hate crime problem in society. The reason I choose this topic is because hate crime is a brutal act against people, property, or society because of the group to which they are members or associate with. The hate crime is one of the most notorious crimes which leads to violent acts causing death and disaster. We need to stop these horrible acts and the solution would be to seek advice from an anti-hate organization which help us reduce hate crimes and factual information can then be spread to the society.

Throughout the country the people have seen a variety of problems with the justice system and how nothing is being done to fix the problems. For instance,The amount of hate crimes against foreign U.S citizens is at an all time high, there are too many innocent minorities are being killed by law enforcement, and the level of police abuse is at a record high. These crimes are causing major problems for the society and its people. The problems that have occurred within the crime and justice system are intolerable and the democrats are going to help by attempting to fix these problems to the best of their ability.

Humans have long inflicted harm on each other on the basis of characteristics of identity. However, as members of civilized societies began denouncing such practices, notable changes began to occur within the structures of society. Specifically, within the United States, hate crime first became a subject of concern in the political rights and policy domain of the 1960’s Civil Rights era. Since then, crime has been the recurring focus of a slew of new legislation. Most recently, the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Act of 2009, (the “Shepard -Byrd Act”) the focus of this paper, has transformed the landscape of this social problem.

This paper will explore the long-term effects a hate crime has on the victim and his or her community. The victims and communities are directly and indirectly affected by the crime. Victims suffered long term effects such as negative mental and physical health, anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD. The affected communities were victimized solely for sharing the same characteristics and beliefs of the victim. The long lasting effects of the hate crime influence every aspect of the victim’s life and those communities involved. Coping mechanisms such as support groups helped the victim and the communities regain some normality in their lives.