Persuasive Essay On Hate Crimes

Hate Crimes: crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or religion(Federal officials, 2011). Hate crimes have been around for centuries. A hate crime is considered any malicious crime that is derived from hatred towards a certain group of people. African Americans are still victim to hate crimes, even after the Civil Rights movement. James Byrd Jr. suffered a prime example of a gruesome hate crime in 1998, because of his African American descent. Three white men, allegedly, chained Byrd to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him down a gravel road, leaving his body parts severed and bloody (Marty,1998). Recently, a new group of people has been targeted by the hateful view

A 2005 study conducted by National Institute of Justice, found that the Federal Government and all but one state, Wyoming, have laws related to hate crimes. A consistent problem identified by this study is there in no consistency in defining what constitutes a hate crime. (Carrie F. Mulford, Ph.D., & Michael Shively, Ph.D., Hate Crime in America: The Debate Continues, 257, Nat’l Inst Just., (2007). “The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines hate crime—also called bias crime—as “a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin.” ld.

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

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” (Martin Luther King Jr). Hate crimes are a big problem in the world today and need to be stopped. To end hate crimes people need to learn to look past what is on the outside of a person and learn to love what it on the inside. In the selection, Why We Need to Tolerate Hate by Wendy Kaminer, Kaminer emphasizes what hate crimes are and how they are treated differently than other crimes. Since hate crimes are a problem in the world today, we need to understand if hate crime prosecution is prosecution of thought and belief, the change of hate crime laws over time, and the way that the prosecution of hate crimes has changed over time.

A hate crime is a crime of prejudice. The commitment of hate crimes is motivated by racial, sexual and even religious differences that often result to violence and death. America today is besieged by hate crimes. It seems that everywhere we turn, in the newspapers, on television and on social media, hate crimes are not only reported but are actually supported. It is unprecedented in American history how much bigotry is thrown out in our faces from the news and in social media. (Patillo, 2017) Behind every hate crime is a message. This is why the mainstream media and social media have become platforms for various groups to brag about their religious and racial biases and what they intend to do about those who against their beliefs. Hate crimes are espoused by religious and racial bigots to sow hate and dissension in order to convince people that their religious and racial prejudices are correct. Politicians, law enforcement units and the local community have to take firm steps to prevent such acts of violence from occurring in their locality.

While hate crime is a fairly new label for a crime, the existence of hate crimes has been present since the early days of the United States. Throughout US history, murders, assaults, and destruction of property has occurred against African Americans, American Indians, Irish immigrants, Asian Americans, Latino’s, gays, the mentally handicapped, and all other groups of minorities. Since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, there has been an increase in racial based attacks against those of Middle Eastern descent, whether they are Muslim or not. Of all of these, African Americans are subjected to the highest number of hate crimes (Martin 1996), with Muslims, homosexuals, and transgendered people on

Circumstances that constitute hate crimes are people committing crime against certain types of people either due to political differences, social class, ethnicity, or sexuality. People who are against a certain group’s lifestyle act out against them which can be in a physical or verbal way.

The hate crime legislations in the United States need to clearly define and identify hate crimes. Title 18 of the United States Code allows prosecutors to prosecute anyone who intentionally injures, intimidate, interferes with someone else, or attempts to do so, by force because of a person’s race, color, religions, or

Hate crimes are many different criminal acts such as vandalism, arson, assault, and even murder. Many hate crimes are based on an individual’s race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disabilities. Everyone can be potential victims of hate crimes. Anyone from any social class can be considered targets for hate crimes. If you or a group believes in a different religion or speaks a different language and the offenders do not approve, then they will target you. No one can be really safe and overcome hate crimes if they are being targeted. It is a cruel and depressing world. With help as a community can stop hate crimes.

Hate crimes are difficult to fathom, primarily because they involve the unprovoked physical attacking and, sometimes, murder of people based on race and ethnicity. A more formal definition of hate crimes is presented by Shepard (2017, p. 285). As he writes, “a hate crime is a criminal act that is motivated by extreme prejudice,” This is a very good, concise and accurate definition, nevertheless, hate crimes are not the outcome of unimaginable heights of discrimination. Most people have prejudices and many have stereotypes regarding others, whether it be racial or class stereotypes. Nobody is completely lacking in any form, shape or type of prejudice but, the much greater percentage does not physically attack, beat or murder those whom they

A hate crime is a crime directed to an individual or group of individuals due to their age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Hate crimes are caused by a feeling of being threatened by a certain group of people which causes the perpetrator to act on angrily. Ever since the concept emerged in the late 1970s, laws were passed in numerous U.S. states mandating penalties for malicious crimes motivated by bias or bigotry against a particular group. Crimes motivated by bias or hate, are committed to send out a message to both the immediate victim, and as well as the group the individual identifies himself/herself as (Legislation, 2012). Some perpetrators commit hate crimes with their peers as a thrill or under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol; some as a reaction against a received threat; and some out of resentment over the growing economic power of particular racial or ethnic group scapegoating. Of all crimes, hate crimes are most likely to create tensions, which can trigger larger community-wide racial conflict, civil disturbances, and even riots. Hate crimes put cities at-risk of serious social and economic consequence. The costs of racial conflicts and civil disturbance are police, fire, and medical personnel overtime, injury or death, business and property loss, and damage to vehicles and equipment. Penalties for the U.S. Federal Law Hate Crime Convictions in the United States. The penalty is a prison term up to ten years if the hate

In many cities throughout the United States, hate crimes are on the rise. A hate crime is a "traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, Congress has defined a hate crime as a 'criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation'" (FBI, 2012). Hate crimes have increased as the national conversation has grown less tolerant. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that hate crimes against Latinos, Muslims, and homosexuals have seemingly increased in recent years. However, whether hate crimes are actually on the rise is something that is debated; the upswing in reported hate crimes may be due to an actual increase in crime rates, but it could also be due to an increase in reporting.

The hate crimes law usually provided harsh penalties for criminals who target victims towards fixed characteristics, including race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and more, according to its definition. It can not only threaten the individual, but also harm the whole community.

¨A hate crimes in any crime committed which is motivated by bias or based on the victim’s perceived membership in a specific group.¨(“Hate Crimes”). Hate crimes are the outcome when someone targets a victim based on their race, sexual orientation, religion, and etc… The question that should be asked is why people support it. Hate crimes are inhumane. Even the constitution states that all men are created equal, so what steps have we taken to stop hate crimes and how do we show everyone why it’s wrong. “The FBI investigated what are now called hate crimes

How does one determine the punishment that a person will receive for the crime they have committed? Well, there is a system of law that can be looked too. Some crimes require mandatory sentences while the punishment for others can be determined by a judge. Generally, people tend to receive the sentence that is due to them because the law requires it. The question is though; what does the law says about hate crime? Hate crime is in a category of its own, and this is due to its specific nature. It is not just old “run-of-the-mill” crime but a crime fueled by some type of prejudice. They are intended to harm the victims and send a message of intimidation and fear and today, hate crime is seen across the world, and in abundance. This leads to more and more people calling out for justice against the perpetrators. So, should this type of crime be punished more severely than other crime? Does the nature of the crime justify a harder sentence? The law says yes, but why?