Hate Crimes
A hate crime is a crime where the perpetrator targets an individual whom society traditionally oppressed or disfavored, usually due to race, sex, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Federal law and laws of many states increase the punishment for hate crimes. While any crime that affects citizens and non-citizens alike is illegal, supporters of hate crime statutes argue that too often the law has not protected disfavored minorities from vicious crimes and that hate crime statutes do not deter violent acts aimed at minorities.
Not all claims of hate crimes, however, result in prosecution of the alleged perpetrators. Sometimes, determining the truth for any crime in general or any hate crime in particular can be difficult, and the police may find that the individuals who reported the incident actually committed the offenses and charge them. Sorting out the truth may be challenging, and different people may have different perspectives and views.
Recently, in New York, three twenty-year-old African-American women attending college reported that white individuals singled them out while they were riding a bus, attacked them for no reason, and called them by derogative names. National news covered their story. The police investigated and did not find their story credible. Instead, the police found that the three women started the incident and that the three women’s account is not true. Accordingly, the police charged the three women with making false reports, committing assault, and committing attempted malicious mischief.
The police found that the three African-American women, in fact, assaulted a nineteen-year-old fellow woman passenger and concluded that other passengers did not utter any race-based sneers, that the three women were not assaulted, and that no hate crime occurred. The three women, however, have stuck to their story. Their lawyers portrayed them as model students with no criminal history and argued that the public should not draw hasty conclusions.
Too often, testimonies or accounts from eyewitnesses are not reliable. Recordings are not always complete or accurate. Police and prosecutors, however, will come to their own conclusions and make charges.
If you are charged with a hate crime or any crime, if you are in trouble with the law, or if you are afraid to report a hate crime, you have rights and legal remedies. If you have questions about America’s criminal laws and criminal justice system, talk to a lawyer. For more information, contact Nashville Criminal Defense Attorney Perry A. Craft.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.