hate intense hostility or dislike; loathing
hate crime a crime that is committed against somebody because the perpetrator disapproves of their race, sexuality, religion, etc. It usually takes the form of physical violence, verbal abuse or threats, or damage to property, etc.
Scotland Yard: crimes motivated by religious hatred have jumped by nearly 600% in London since 7th July.
Statistics compiled by Human Rights First for the OSCE, published 31 May 2005:
Only 3 OSCE member countries provided thorough and reliable data on hate crimes as requested. That is 3 out of 55. They were the US, Canada and the UK.
Only 19 of the 55 countries have laws in force to punish crimes motivated by racism.
Only 5 of the 19 countries have enacted legislation to punish crimes motivated by sexual orientation and disability bias – Belgium, Canada, France, Spain, UK, as well as 29 states of the US and the District of Columbia.
Only 4 countries plus 26 states and DC have laws that punish hate crimes based on gender (Belgium, Canada, France, Spain).
In the United Kingdom, anti-Jewish violent personal assaults doubled in 2004 over the previous year.
In France, anti-Jewish violent offences were up 63% from 2003 to 2004. In 2002 there were 41 violent hate crimes against gay men, and in 2003 there were 86. In 2003 there were 232 attacks classified as acts of “racism and xenophobia”, victims mostly North African, and in 2004 there were 595.
In the United States, there were 28 hate crimes against Muslims in 2000, and 481 in 2001.
If you would like to know about murders, violent attacks, cemeteries being desecrated, mosques being burned, children being beaten up, a gay man being set on fire and more, have a look at the report:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/discrimination/pdf/everyday-fears-053105.pdf
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8 comments:
What makes the difference what the motivation is? A crime is a crime is a crime. How many crimes are committed out of love and friendship? If a black kills a black or a white kills a white, why should that be any different than a white killing a black out of some perceived "hate" by the court system?
Will the punishment for the "hate" murder be more severe than the "non-hate" murder? If so, it is an injustice. Basically, what this is leading to is punishing people for "thought crimes." Hate is a valid emotion; it's how you act or don't act upon it that makes it a potential crime.
DD, not necessarily. Crimes that are motivated by hate are crimes that would not happen without the hate. The hate is more than the motivation, it is an integral part of the cause.
This just in:
A leading Muslim figure has suggested Islamic women stop wearing head scarves, amid a rise in hate crimes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4742869.stm
The emotion of hate is NOT the crime. The CRIME is the crime. There are people I hate, like Bruce Springsteen, whom I don't commit a crime against. It's the action not the thought that is punishable.
If someone steals food due to hunger or poverty, should it be a "poor" theft?
DD, in actual criminal law, both the mind and the act are integral parts of the crime: mens rea and actus reus.
On a separate note, I'll give you an example: Asshole's shop has been vandalised with swastikas because he is Jewish. If Asshole had not been Jewish, his shop would not have been a target of the vandals. Hate crime.
I do understand what you are saying; please try to understand what I am saying.
MM,
I'm catching your drift. But,what if Asshole got his shop vandalised because some street toughs didn't like the fact that he wore pink, stilleto heels? Should they get a different punishment than the ones that vandalised his store because he's Jewish? If so, then that is unjust and it's the fabled slippery slope. If not, then the idea of hate crimes is more of a political statement than a legal one. I understand that criminal intent is part of criminal law, but once criminal intent has been established, does it matter what that intent was? I would say no.
DD, I totally understand what you are saying. We have got into a discussion about 2 different things. My point is that hate crimes are on the rise and not enough is being done about it. If I am correct, your point is that perpetrators of hate crimes should be treated no differently than those of similar crimes (acts) that are not motivated by "hate". Fine. Like I said, I understand you, and I am not necessarily prepared to argue that point. However I still stand behind my point.
And how did you know about Asshole's pink stiletto heels??!!
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