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Essay On Hate Crimes

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On June 7, 1998, A 49-year-old man James Byrd Jr. of Texas received a ride home from three white drunk men. Instead of them taking him home they beat him severely, urinated on him, chained him by his ankles to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him for more than three mile along an asphalt road into and a secluded country area east of the town where they dumped his headless torso in front of an African American cemetery. Over a year later, a jury sentenced Lawrence Russell Brewer to death by lethal injections in the state of Texas. On the other hand, the other two suspects John King remains on death row and Shawn Berry was sentenced to life imprisonment. This is one case that led to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention …show more content…

The statistics for various categories of hate crimes are totally different, for instance race is at its most high in the US with 57.1 of the cases were motivated by race. According to the National Population Demographics blacks are 28 times more likely to be victims of hate crimes than whites. Improvements in hate crime laws and punishments are necessary in order for these statics to decrease. Many people have different thoughts about hate crime statutes, most are for them and unlike the others they are against them. Today, hate crime laws are getting more enhanced day by day from all of the hate crimes that 's occurring.
Hate crimes have an established set of laws that 's extremely enhanced and severe if crime is committed. According to Howard P. Berkowitz hate crimes are constitutional. “Current hate-crime laws are both valuable and constitutional” (Berkowitz). The reason why hate crime laws are valuable and constitutional is that it gives the victim the opportunity to have justice and is valid under the law. “We do not view penalty enhancement as a panacea, a cure all for the scourge of hate in society” (Berkowitz). Penalty enhancements are not a solution for all the hate crime that 's occurring in

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Summarized account On June 7th 1998, James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old African American male, was walking home alone after a night of drinking with friends and family in Jasper, Texas. As Byrd was walking home, he was stopped and offered a ride from three drunk white men. Byrd accepted the ride and climbed into the back of the pickup truck. The men in the truck were Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King, and they had no intention of taking Byrd home that night.

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The fact that hate crime is deemed a major problem for a nation makes the Mathew Sheppard and James Byrd act to be implemented at all levels. This act is implemented at the local, state and federal level within a nation. This because the federal. Local, federal and state authorities join forces during investigations and prosecution of these hate crimes to protect the entire nation from violence evolving due to hate among people. Therefore, to mitigate expansion of hate crimes in the nation all authorities are given the power by Mathew Sheppard’s act to prevent hate crimes and prosecuting

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In recent years, two executions in the U.S have generated a great deal of publicity. One of these executions included Troy Davis, convicted and executed for the murder of a police officer in 1989. Another crime in 1989 led to the conviction and execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer, in which Brewer dragged a man by the name of James Byrd to death. Even though the motives and situations of the two crimes were extremely different, the sentence for the two men were the same: death. These sentencings generated a great deal of publicity.

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The U.S. later legalized it in 2009. This act augmented penalties for crimes perpetrated against one’s ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, age, disability, sexual identity, or sexual preference. Today, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act is “effectively recognizing the importance of prosecuting violence motivated by racism or other bias-related crimes” (2). The act serves as evidence of progress towards equality. The government is saying that all men are created equal and should be treated in the same manner, and if one chooses to oppose this proposition, they will encounter strict

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It leaves those in marginalized groups to be more inclined to receive not only a prosecution or arrest but severe punishments such as the death penalty for the same crimes. Prejudice and racial bias “have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison”(Stevenson,16). The unjust impact of the justice system is not limited to prison. Black defendants are four times more likely to receive the death penalty than a non-Black person whose situation is similar (“NACDL - Race and the Death Penalty”). The influence of racial biases in our justice system makes it increasingly hard or even impossible to truly make an impartial decision on an irreversible punishment.

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Over the course of English 1302 at Texas Tech, I feel that my skills as a writer improved significantly. When beginning the class, I knew little about writing a literature review or researched argument. With the help of my instructor’s lectures and the University Writing Center, I was able to effectively get my point across effectively while forming a well developed and well spoken manner. The advice given to me about argumentative essays and integrating sources helped significantly over the course of this class, and the skills learned in English 1302 helped me in other classes this semester when writing as well. One of the things I have learned that influenced me the most was my professor’s advice about an argument.

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Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation Center for Data Analysis David B. Muhlhausen, PhD argues that “there is little evidence to suggest that minorities are treated unfairly. Second, capital punishment produces a strong deterrent effect that saves lives” (2007). Muhlhausen’s statement can be considered bias because he could possibly be disregarding data that was not processed by his place of employment, The Heritage Foundation Center. Muhlhausen is not the only person to claim that little evidence has been found supporting that the fact that minorities are treated unfairly. Fellow lawyer and Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, Kent Scheidegger agrees with Muehlhausen’s claim by arguing that the research the research the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation has done “does not prove or even raise a reasonable suspicion that race is a significant factor in either the charging decision or the sentencing decision in California capital cases (2008).”

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As I step out of my car and into the field the sun is making my face warm. The sun makes my face feel warm. Like if you have ever pulled a towel out of the dryer and put it against your face. I am walking through a field with grass up to my knees. I walk up towards the pond I am going to be dove hunting at.

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The first amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens’ rights to; freedom of the press, peaceful assembly, religious freedom, the right to petition the government, and the right to free speech. The Constitution itself asserts: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” Interpreting the first amendment has always been a subject for debate, and many citizens of the United States are unaware of what is actually protected by the first amendment, specifically in regards to freedom of speech. This lack

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Conversely, under hate crime legislation it is clear to see that the prosecution of hate crimes further divides society by reinforcing the marginalisation of minority groups. Advocates with ideologies akin to this state that all violent crimes are the result of the offender’s absolute contempt for the victim of the hate crime. In such cases like this, all crimes are hate crimes and if no alternate rationale for prosecuting some people more harshly than others for the same crime based on who the victim is, a situation arises where different offenders charged with the same offence are treated unequally under the law which inadvertently creates discrimination, prejudices and unfairness in society.

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150 Words | 1 Pages

There’s going to be different charges for every case. The charges are going to be different. Punishments for hate crimes are going to depend on the case and how bad the crime is. There is going to be different charges for every case, but it’s going to depend on what the person did and what evidence they find. Steven Sandstorm and Gary Eye, of Kansas City, Missouri were sentenced multiple life sentences because of the “racially- motivated murder of William L. McCay.”

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1481 Words | 6 Pages

The argument for hate crime laws is supported by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993) that hate crime laws punish conduct rather than thought.

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155 Words | 1 Pages

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right of “freedom of speech” Bill of Rights, n.d., p. 1). It was designed to guarantee a free exchange of ideas, even if the ideas are unpopular. One of the most controversial free speech issues involves hate speech. Hate speech is a public expression of discrimination against a vulnerable group, based on “race, ethnicity, religion,” and sexual orientation (Karman, 2016, p. 3940). Under the First Amendment there is no exception to hate speech; although, hateful ideas are protected just as other ideas.

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842 Words | 4 Pages

Hate Crime is a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” If an African American commits the same crime as an Caucasian it is more likely for the black person to be charged and arrested due to the racial issues we have today. There are many pros and cons towards the issue of racial crime, but hate crime is still a very difficult issue for our country to overcome. In order to overcome the issue of hate crime it would require changing legislation, public and police attitudes.

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In the recent news, everyone’s heard of the rise in hate crime. Most hate crime is “motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence,” (Dictionary.com). Hate crimes have spanned across the country and impact thousands of lives each year. The FBI started investigating hate crimes at the turn of the 20th century. The FBI define hate crime as, “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity,” (FBI).

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