Examples Of Hate Crimes example essay topic

Final English Paper By Joe Mela Have you ever had a crime committed against you? In today's society we are faced with crime all around us. There are crimes committed out of rage, revenge, jealousy, love, greed, etc; but there is another type of crime, or one could say act of violence, called hate crimes. Have you ever thought maybe that crime was committed against just because of your racial background, or religious beliefs? Throughout this country's history, hate crimes have taken place, either by known groups who hate and, most commonly, individuals that are inspired by hate.

Not until recently have the people of this country ever wanted to pass a law that would punish the guilty to an even higher extent because the crime was committed out of hate. There are two sides to every issue. Whether or not the issue is valid or if it is an unrealistic concept created by the media or by the federal government, then, in my opinion, passing a law of this type is totally unrealistic. It is almost impossible to prove that a crime is committed out of a bias hate.

I feel that a law that punishes hate crimes should not be passed. One main question that would be asked is, "Prove it?" Saying just that, in some cases destroys the effectiveness of the law, especially if and when the crime is committed when both parties share the same sexual, ethnic or religious back- ground. Now, I think that the money grubbing lawyers and the media would love this new law because, for one, the prosecuting lawyers would, in many cases, use it against the defendant, especially if it was a white vs. black case, or vice versa. The media would emphasize racial discrimination just because the general public, especially minorities, love controversies that may make them sympathetic. Also, I would think that this law would tie up more court time.

If you think about it, there would be more cases popping up all over the place and also what ever case is going to be herd the word, hate, would probably be thrown in there as well which would drag the case out even longer. Maybe, not as much in criminal cases, but more so in civil suites. Look at how "sue happy" the public is now. This law would only add to it. For example, people sue their neighbors for their pets going to the bathroom on their lawn. How ridiculous is that?

Another example is a lady put here dog in the microwave to dry it off. When she returned she had cooked the dog to death. She sued the microwave company because there wasn't a warning saying not to put live animals into the microwave. People can always argue that there was no bias involved and that they just committed the crime. In many cases that would be hard to do. For instance, do you think that the average Joe committing a robbery at the local deli, that just happened to be owned by people of Asian decent, would think this law would sidetrack him and make him say to himself, "I should rob the deli in the next town because their owner is white".

Now, nobody knows it, but Joe hates Asians. How can you prove he committed the crime out of hate? It's almost impossible in my opinion. If this law was passed, do you think people knowing that they would get a higher sentence would say to themselves, "no, it's just not worth it". Now, for the most serious crimes (obviously including murder), is it reasonable to think adding tougher legislation for hate crimes really means all that much or do you think it would give the victim any satisfaction in knowing that on top of getting murder one, he faces more time in the slammer? Well, it really depends on the individual.

(Jacobs 5) I would think that, if someone were going to committee a crime intentionally, they really wouldn't care. Another point is that a large percentage of aggravated assaults and battery are fights that break out at bars and on the streets. The initiation of the crime is not necessarily brought on by hate, but by some meaningless argument and when that case goes to court, should the charge of hate crimes come about just because the men had different ethnic backgrounds and waste more court time? I find that totally absurd!

Now, a reason for why hate crimes should be treated more seriously is that these types of crimes tend to have more emotional and psychological impact on victims than if the same crime was committed to someone else with no bias behind it. (Jacobs 3) Here are some examples of hate crimes. A black man was chained to the back of a pickup truck, driven by a white man, by the ankles and dragged to death. The slaying last summer of 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas, is a harsh reminder to all Americans that violent crimes motivated by prejudice continue to disrupt our nation's sense of racial harmony.

(Grigera 1) The nation was made aware once again of the reality of hate crimes in October 1998 by the fatal beating of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo. The 21-year-old college student, who was gay, suffered severe head injuries after being beaten and tied to a wooden fence in near-freezing temperatures. These savage attacks, among many others not reported or covered by the media, have prompted nationwide outrage and have renewed the hate crime debate. (Grigera 2) All of these crimes were committed out of hate but they should be treated as a definite crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery. I'm not saying that I agree with going out and committing a crime out of hate, but I don't feel that a person should get any more time behind bars for committing the crime out of hate. Rape is rape and murder is murder.

Not "rape with hate" or "murder with hate". You should be punished for the actual crime, not your feelings that go along with it. Now even if this law were passed, would the police and courts enforce it? If they didn't, what would be the point of passing it to begin with. I guess you could say that about any law but in my eyes I could see our "system" twisting everything around. They would probably convict innocent people of "Hate crimes" and let the guilty people of "Hate" go.

I don't think it is fair to add another category to the crime list that could in the long run, ruin some peoples lives. I just think that it is wrong. I hope you see my point of view and agree with my opinion.

Bibliography

Jacobs, James. Hate Crimes. Challenging Intolerance 14 Nov. 2000 web's 57549 sl&type = ART&art no = .
Grigera, Elena. Hate Crimes. Corrections Today 14 Nov. 2000 web Samuel.