GOVT 204 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1&2: Southern Poverty Law Center, Deterrence Theory, Psychological Trauma
Document Summary
Hate crimes laws were not the first legal remedie for prejudice-inspired offenses, some civil rights legislation dates to the end of the civil war. What is a hate crime: not a crime in which the offender hates the victim. Most crimes involving hatred between the parties would not fall under the legal definition of hate crimes. Technically, the act does not need to be motivated by hatred at all: simplest definition: a criminal act which is motivated at least in part, by the group affiliation of the victim. Arguments for having hate crime laws: retribution: hate crimes are different from ordinary crimes. There have been only a few studies that actually assess the emotional state of hate crime victims. The most we can conclude is that under some circumstances, hate crimes might be more traumatic than other crimes. Hate crimes may have a wider impact. Hate crimes may spark retaliation and conflict: deterrence.
