Application: Hate Crimes
The term "hate crime" is relatively new, having not emerged until the 1980s in journalism and criminal justice discourse. Today, most members of the general public have at least a basic understanding of what this term means and to which types of offenses it refers. A hate crime is commonly defined as "a criminal offense committed against persons, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by an offender's bias against an individual's or a group's perceived race, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation" (Taylor, Fritsch, Leiderbach, & Holt, 2011).
Despite having what seems like a straightforward definition, it is often very difficult to determine whether an offense should be classified as a hate crime. For example, in the Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell cases, police officers acted on assumptions based on race, which is certainly related to bias. But were these cases hate crimes?
For this Assignment, select a case from those presented in this week's Learning Resources that depicts a crime based on stereotypes and biases of race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation. Consider characteristics that should be present to classify the incident as a hate crime.
The Assignment (2-3 pages):
Identify the case you selected.
Describe characteristics that must be present for a crime to be considered a hate crime.
Based on the characteristics you identified, explain whether or not the case you selected might be classified as a hate crime.