Something as powerful as discriminations creates a new category of criminal offenses. This is where we chalk up the term, a hate crime. The definition, provided by the Community Relations Service of the US Department of Justice, it is “a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, or sexual orientation of any person.” (pg. 1) Hate crimes are typically different in the fact that they usually involve arson, vandalism, physical and verbal abuse, verbal threats of causing harm to install a sense of fear into the chosen victim. Due to the obvious fact of hate crimes, it leaves an affect on the victim that echoes through their thoughts throughout their whole life that could cause disorders like PTSD. When studied we find a pattern in the chosen victims among the LGBT community that are compared to victims of rape. When a hate crime is committed, the perpetrator often claims that the blame lays on the victim and that they deserved to be attacked. Fortunately, our judicial system created sentence enhancement for those who commit a hate crime (Hate Crime Sentencing Enhancement Act 1993).
While some states have installed the us of the sentence enhancement and even added their own statutes in the mix, there are some who have not adopted this. There are 15 states that
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.
Imagine feeling unsafe wherever you go, fearing that you’re going to be the next victim of a hate crime. Being terrified that your family is going to get a call saying that your body was found lifeless, bloody, and nearly unidentifiable on the side of the road. Gay and trans youth are constantly fearing that they are going to be killed, beaten, , kicked out, or unaccepted for something they cannot control. LGBT+ people are twice as likely to be victims of hate crimes than any other minority. Despite these statistics, the media hardly covers their deaths or beatings. Justice should not be taken away from an individual due to their sexual orientation, preference, or gender because we are all equal, regardless of circumstances.
Which ethnic group of individuals does it seem that most hate crime is committed against?
Hate Crimes Prevention Act also provides authorities with a better picture of the prevalence of hate crimes by requiring local authorities to include hate crimes committed because of sexuality, gender, gender identity, and disability to the reports on local hate crimes that they send in to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Before the HCPA, hate crimes were already too prevalent in the United States, and the addition of these new classifications of hate crimes only added to the amount of hate crimes committed, giving the government and U.S. citizens a greater awareness of this problem. For example, of the 6,573 hate crimes committed in 2012, the top three motivations behind these acts were race (47.2 percent), religion (20.2 percent), and sexual orientation (19.7 percent) (“Hate Violence,”
The Klu Klux Klan, one of the most recognised hate groups in US history, was founded in 1865. They were under the impression that people of color were less valuable than white people, some even believing that they weren't human. Something people don’t realize is that groups like that are still around today, and just as active as ever. Hate groups, and just random unorganised hate crimes are just as real as me and you, and they are still an active threat. Hate Crime is relevant, and as a society, we should be doing our best to snuff out the flames of prejudice and resentment that burn in the hearts of anyone willing to participate in such unjust behavior. This kind of activity is not only hurtful emotionally, but sometimes, it turns to violence. Innocent people getting picked off the street simply because of their beliefs, who they love, or the color of their skin. This is something that nobody should stand for, especially now, in this constantly progressing world. All in all, Hate Crimes are a real problem, and in order to stop injustice such as this, we need to work together as human beings to accept people, regardless of who they are.
Crime in America is an extremely plaguing issue. However, recently hate crimes specifically have been on the rise. Those targeted by these awful crimes include those from specific race, sex, and sexuality groups, as well as those with disabilities. While, all hate crimes are indeed terrible, those targeting the disabled are especially heinous. To attack someone who can not physically or consciously defend themselves is very cowardly. The authors of Hate Crimes and Disability in America, Brian T. McMahon, Steven L. West, Allen N. Lewis, Amy J. Armstrong, and Joseph P. Conway address the issue of hate crimes against the disabled as well as the statistics and legality of this matter.
The offender is often motivated by a bias and their criminal act sends a clear message of hate and violence towards a particular person or group or people. The offender’s motive can be extremely threatening to people who are far removed from the actual scene of the crime. Victims of hate crimes that are chosen based on their race, sexual orientation, or religion can cause all those in the community who share those characteristics and beliefs to experience the same vulnerability as the victim. The community is then overcome by fear and uncertainty. These effects can be as devastating as the crime itself.
There are several laws that have been put in place over the years about hate crimes. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the first federal hate crime statute. This statute made it a crime to use, or threaten to use force willfully interfere with any persons because of race, color, religion, or national origin and because the person is participating in federally protected activity such as public, education, employment, jury service, travel, or the enjoyment of public accommodations, or helping another person do so (justice.gov, 2017). In 1968, another act was signed into law that made it a crime to interfere with housing rights because of someone 's race, color, religion, sex or national origin. (civil rights act
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.
Chapter 7 pertains to victims of violence and who they are. I was informed about the legal rights of violent crime victims, such as the general list of victim rights that stemmed from the Crime Victims Assistance Act of 1988. I also learned about the different types of hate crimes and the consequences of hate crime victimization. Another point touched on in this chapter was crimes against the homeless and how environmental degradation is an act of violence. The section of this chapter that interested me the most was learning about the victims of violent sexual assault. Unfortunately the notion of victim blame seemed to be a recurring theme in this chapter and was a main point made when learning about the myths of rape against women.
Matthew Shepard was born on December 1, 1976. His parents were Judy and Dennis Shepard. Matthew Shepard died on October 12,1998 as a result of extensive injuries from a violent, gay related hate crime. (biography.com) He was only 21 years old. He was beaten and left to expire because two particular men did not like his sexual preference.
Plenty of recent studies and cases that involved hate crimes have had a steady increase in recent years throughout the United States. The crimes range from minor cases such as disagreements and gender bias however the major cases are the ones that have constantly surfaced such as crimes related to Religion, Race, Sexual Orientation, and most importantly Gangs. Hate crimes have always been around although many of the people committing the crimes know that what they are doing is wrong psychologically they believe their actions are justified by themselves or a group they ae associated with even at the cost of a human life. Many group and individuals committing these crimes make it a part of their lifestyle to commit these crimes based upon their
First, from the victim's point of view, the purpose of hate/bias crimes adds the extra dimensions of fear and devaluation to the victimization. Someone has been targeted due to a core characteristic of his or her identity that cannot be changed. If membership in a target group is readily visible, the victim may feel particularly vulnerable to a repeat attack that can result in a feeling of hopelessness. The fears are also exacerbated because society has been slower to respond to hate/bias crimes than to random "stranger" crimes. The victim may then become afraid to associate with other members of the group who have been targeted or may resist seeking needed services, believing that these actions will increase his or her
A crime that has been performed because of sexual, racial, or other prejudice feelings is known as a hate crime. These wrongdoings often include violence and are one of the FBI’s Civil Rights programs highest priority to stop. They are at such an importance to control because the destruction these crimes cause families and communities is horrible. It is also believed that these crimes can plant a seed of terrorism in our country because of the intolerance and hatred preached by these criminals.
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.