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Effects of hate crime on the community
Effects of hate crime on the community
Definitions of hate crime essay
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A Hate Crime is a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence. These crimes are committed by different people all around the world. In the late 1990s, the act of burning churches was one the many hate crimes that were committed. According to “Hate Crimes Are a Serious Problem” at a CDR press conference in 1996 there were “ninety black churches had been burned in nine southern states since 1990 and that more were being burned every year”(Lawson and Henderson 1). While there were many African American Churches that were burned down, it even says that there will be more to come. Throughout the years more and more crimes are happening, even the ones that aren’t reported rises the statistics of hate crimes. …show more content…
He was an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming. This hate crime was so drastic that it “became one of the most prominent cases in Wyoming judicial history” (Marsden 1). One night after Shepard left the LGBT student group that he attended he went the Fireside Lounge in Laramie. There he met McKinney and Henderson who drove Shepard to a secluded area where they beat and tortured him. In the autopsy “Shepard was struck 19 to 21 times in the head with the butt of a .357-caliber Magnum Smith & Wesson pistol” (Marsden 3). After Henderson and McKinney robbed him, they tied him to a fence and left him for dead. Approximately 18 hours later Shepard was found and rushed to the hospital. He lived for six more days until he “succumbed to his injuries”. This was a very heartbreaking murder that will be remembered forever. Matthew Shepard’s murder did not only affect his family but a lot of people all around the world, it is true that “these hate crimes...divide Americans against each other, and distort our entire society” ( Lawson and Henderson 8). There should never be that amount of hate in someone's heart and soul to hurt someone solely based on their race, sexual preference and
Months before Emmett's death in 1955, two African American activists in Mississippi had been murdered. An NAACP field worker, the Reverend George Lee, was shot and killed at point blank range while driving in his car after trying to vote in Belzoni. A few weeks later in Brookhaven, Lamar Smith was shot and killed in front of the county courthouse -- in broad daylight and before witnesses -- after casting his ballot. Both were active in black voter registration drives. No one was arrested in connection with either murder
“[Emmett Till's murder was] one of the most brutal and inhuman crimes of the 20th century,” according to Martin Luther King Jr. On August 28, 1955 in Money, Mississippi, a 14 year old boy named Emmett Till from Chicago was beaten and mercilessly murdered by two white men for flirting with a white woman. The death of this unknowing child shocked the nation and was undeniably an important catalyst for the civil rights movement.
In June of 1998, a sadistic murder of a middle-aged black man from Jasper, Texas, rekindled memories of lynching practices from the blood stained American past. James Byrd, Jr., 49, was beaten savagely to the point of unconsciousness, chained to the back of a pickup truck by his neck, and dragged for miles over rural roads outside the town of Jasper. It is believed that Byrd survived through most of this experience, that is, until he was decapitated. Three white men, John William King, 23, Shawn Berry, 23, (both of whom had links to white supremacist groups) and Lawrence Brewer Jr., 31, were arrested. Brewer and King were sentenced to death for a racial hate crime that shocked the nation. Berry was sent to prison for life.
The Laramie Project, written by Moisés Kaufman, is a compilation of interviews by The Tectonic Theater Project, news publications, and journal entries. After the brutal murder of Mathew Sheppard in 1998. Kaufman along with his theater troupe made six visits to Laramie, Wyoming, where the murder took place, to interview people about what happened and how they felt about the crime in their community. They interviewed about two hundred people, of which about sixty were included in the play. The play showcases a small town in America in a historical time of tragedy. The production of The Laramie Project was simple. The stage setting was minimal and the the actors consisted of eight people portraying more than sixty. Through the patchwork of interviews The Laramie Project conveys the themes of identity, representation, and change.
Hate crimes are terrible things that are becoming more and more common in America because people don’t like the way they look or feel. The purpose of the “ Debate: What is a Hate Crime” is to teach people of a crime that is becoming quite important in the society.
The case has been portrayed in a movie, "Boys Don't Cry", in which the lead actress, played by Hilary Swank won an Oscar in 1999. Because the crime rates have dropped, crimes against homosexuals have risen in the past few years. Laws in several states do not cover crimes related to homosexuals. There are four states in America that have no safe haven for homosexuals, states must establish crueler punishment for men and women that commit heinous hate crimes based on sexual orientation In a statement released by Judy Shepard, Matthews mother, she says. Matt is no longer with us today because the men who killed him learned to hate.
According to Petrosino (2003: 10) hate crimes can be defined as "..the victimisation of minorities due to their racial or ethnic identity by members of the majority. " (p. 4) Hate crimes are also known as bias-motivated crimes because the crimes are motivated by a bias towards a person or persons including but not limited to those of a different gender, ethnic background, religion, or sexual orientation. Hate crimes are quite serious and have severe and long lasting-effects for the targeted victims. Due to the severe nature of the crimes many countries have strict laws in place to punish offenders. Hate crime is not widely discussed in Canadian society because it has not been a prominent issue until now. “..The extent of the problem in Canada was limited to a small number of persons, such activity could create a climate of malice and destructiveness to the values of our society (Cohen Report, 1966:24). As a result of the committee’s efforts, Parliament amended the Criminal Code in 1970, thus rendering hate propaganda as a punishable offence (Law Reform Commission of Canada, 1986:7)
Hate crimes are like messages to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome in a particular neighborhood, community, school, or workplace. Hate crimes are criminal offenses, usually involving violence, intimidation or vandalism, in which the victim is targeted because of race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, sex or political affiliation. Hate crimes can occur at home, at school, at places of worship, at work, on the street - virtually anywhere. A hate crime has many victims as it not only victimizes the immediate victim, but also impacts the larger community by creating fear and insecurity among all members of the group that the victim represents. Many people perceive hate crime perpetrators as crazed hate-filled neo-Nazis or "skinheads".
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
Exposition: Determining Hate Crimes?Hate based on race, religion and sexual orientation exist within any cultural rich societies. When this type of hate fuels a person into taking violent actions upon those they hate, it is called a hate crime; a topic which the American public is seriously concerned about. It has been a widely discussed subject on the media, and often debates of whether or not a crime should be attributed with hate are the center for discussion.Does hate crime imply on any case when a person is convicted for inflicting damage on someone "different"? It is often difficult to set a benchmark for measuring sufficiency of hate as a cause to label it in front of crime. The term can be conveniently stretched and squeezed by people with different ideas and biases.
Any crime motivated by a bias against a person or group based on their ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, religion or another characteristic is a hate crime. These crimes can either be committed against the people themselves or their property. When someone commits a hate crime they are targeting a group of people not just one individual. That’s why hate crimes have extra punishment. The punishment for hate crimes are very insignificant considering the deviant who committed a hate crime targeted an entire group of people. Hate crimes are very serious offensive but determining where to draw the line can be difficult. Hate crimes are very serious and can have lasting effects on victims.
A hate crime is described as a crime in which the victim is targeted specifically because of their "actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.” The word hate crime did not exist until the 1980’s but the FBI had been investigating hate crimes as early as the 1930’s. After the passage of the Civil Right Act of 1964 the role of the federal government increased with more violence against African Americans. Hate crime legislation was first introduced in the 1980’s and was pass in the early 1990’s by way of the The Hate Crimes Statistics Act. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act only gave the FBI the power to track and record hate crime statistics. In October of 2009, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act or “The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act” was passed. The new law gave the Department of Justice the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence (FBI).
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender, etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
Hate Crime in the United States of America THESIS: In this research paper, information will be given on hate crime in the United States of America. It’s best to know about these types of crimes before it’s too late because it’s rarely reported or spoken about but does occur on regular bases. Hate crime didn't come about until the early 1980's. It's sad how these types of crimes still occur so many years later; there are innocent people who are attacked simply because of their race, religion or sexual orientation. Based on the articles, hate crime in the USA is very common and the chances to be a victim are high enough. Hate crimes are ignorant and pointless, they need to be stopped.Done to many different people in many different waysHate crimes are biased motivated, they're based on ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, physical appearance and sexual orientation. Hate crimes have various ways of being committed. They can be done either by physically assaulting another individual, doing damage to their property, bullying them, harassing them, verbal abusing or insulting someone. Hate crimes occur because of people who are prejudice and ignorant who can’t understand that there are differences among people. A victim of hate crime is more than likely to be attacked by another individual because of their race. The most common type of hate crimes that are committed is racially motivated. While gay people are also attacked often also, hate crimes based on sexual orientation come in second. In 2012 and 2013 there were 42,236 reported hate crimes. 85% were race hate crimes, 10% were sexual orientation, 4% were disability and religion hate crimes and 1% transgender. The FBI has found that most hate crime offenders are white at 70%...
Whether it’s because of race, sexuality, or even other religion, hate crimes are motivated by how they view people because of their personal belief. Organized religion is the main reason for hate crimes around the world.