BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
What is a hate crime?
A hate crime is a “crime in which the defendant
intentionally selcts a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the
property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or
perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation,
gender, or disability of any person.” (P.L. 103-322, Title XXVIII,
280003, 108 Stat.2096)
There were 8,049 hate crimes reported in 1997, the most recent year
for which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has records, a drop of
over 700 from the previous year. Statistics, however, don't tell the
whole story.
How are hate
crimes different from other crimes?
Hate crimes are not just isolated incidents of crime; their
purpose is to communicate a message to a targeted group. Hate crimes
are committed to cause fear to a whole community. A violent hate crime
is intended to "send a message" that an individual and
"their kind" will not be tolerated, many times leaving the
victim and others in their group feeling isolated, vulnerable and
unprotected.
For example, white supremacist Buford Furrow Jr. stated that his
shooting rampage in a Los Angeles Jewish community center was intended
to “send a message to America” that Jews need to be killed. He
characterized his decision to murder a Filipino American postal worker,
Joseph Ileto, because Ileto was a “target of opportunity.” These
crimes are intended to strike fear in the communities of the target
victim, and should be considered a form of domestic terrorism.
What are the current laws governing hate crimes?
At the federal level, there are three laws that are
significant with regards to hate crimes.
• The Hate Crimes Statistics Act (PL 101-275) became law in 1990 and
was reauthorized in 1996. This law requires the FBI to collect
statistics on hate crimes on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity,
sexual orientation and disability. Although the FBI is required to
collect and analyze the statistics from local and state law
enforcement agencies, the local and state agencies are not required
to provide statistics to the FBI. This law does not punish hate
crime perpetrators, it simply compiles statistics from the various
local and state jurisdictions that report to the FBI.
• The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act (PL 103-322) was passed
as a part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of
1994. This law directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to provide
sentencing enhancements of "not less than three offense levels
for offenses that the finder of fact at trial determines beyond a
reasonable doubt are hate crimes." This law is considered the
federal counterpart to state hate crime penalty statutes, to be used
for hate crimes committed on federal property, such as national
parks. Because the law can only be used when a crime is perpetrated
on federal property, it is only very rarely used.
• Federal prosecution of hate crimes is permitted under 18 U.S.C.
245if the crime was motivated by bias based on race, religion,
national origin, or color. The law does mandate, however, that the
victim must be exercising a "federally protected right"
(e.g. voting, attending school, etc.). Since it is often difficult
for the federal government to establish jurisdiction, less than ten
cases are prosecuted annually.
At the state and local level, hate crimes laws become more complex
and problematic. There are eight states, notably New York, which
provide no hate crimes protections at all. Of the remainder, the laws
are applied in an inconsistent fashion. For example, in one state, a
hate crime may carry its own criminal charge and penalty while in
others, hate crimes simply enhance the charge or penalty. The disparity
creates wide inconsistencies in the way hate crimes are addressed.
Faux wood ceilings.
What is the extent
of the problem?
Despite the fact that federal statistics have shown a
decrease, there is good cause for concern.
First, law enforcement experts agree that when compared to other
crimes, hate crimes are underreported to the police. Minority groups
have historically had strained relations with law enforcement and fear
what is called "re-victimization" when they go to the police.
For South Asians, re-victimization can consist of the police verbally
or physically attacking the individual who reports the crime, blaming
the victim, or unwillingness to write up a police report.
Further, in jurisdictions where people are ignorant of their rights
or lack confidence in law enforcement, they are less motivated to
report such crimes to authorities. If a perpetrator cannot be
prosecuted, victims may think it a waste of time and energy to report
the crime.
Unfortunately, there are not accurate statistics on S. Asian
victims. In the past three years, however, a number of gruesome
attacks, have come into the public spotlight:
April 2000
Pittsburgh,
PA-While working at the India Grocers store, Sandip Patel the store
manager, and Anil Thakur, a customer are shot by a immigration
attorney Richard Baumhammers. Thakur,31, is killed and
Patel,25, is paralyzed from the neck down. Baumhammers
also kills four others the same day, a Jewish woman, two other Asian
American men, and an African American man.
October 1998.
Three Indian men, Kanu Patel, Mukhesh Patel, and Ashvin Patel,
were working at a Dunkin Donuts when a white man enters the store and
taunts them about their broken English. He then strikes them with his
shotgun, shoots them, and leaves them for dead. Later, he and an
accomplice set the store ablaze. Only Ashvin Patel survives.
September 1998.
An Indian American teenager, Rishi Maharaj, is walking home in Ozone
Park, New York, when he is brutally assaulted by three men wielding
baseball bats. Maharaj was beaten senseless as the men shouted that
they wanted Indians out of their neighborhood.
November 1997.
A fourteen-year old Sikh boy is taunted about his turban as he is
riding home from school in Union City, California. Passengers on the
bus call him names and throw spitballs at him. One rider dumps cologne
on him, complaining that he "smells." After exiting the bus,
two passengers follow and attack the boy.
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