My position on hate crime legislation is that it is wrongheaded.
If person A bashes person B, motivation should be considered in the sentence, not in terms of the charge.
From a purely practical point of view, I cannot see how being able to charge an alleged offender with (for example) both assault and a hate crime is going to make things better for the victim or necessarily worse for the alleged offender - or, more importantly from a big picture POV, reduce the likelihood of similar future assaults.
IMHO, in order to reduce the level of violence in a society, more prevention (through campaigns and law enforcement visibility), better complaint clear-up rates (through increased law enforcement patrols and investigations) and better conviction rates (through more effective investigations and prosecutions) are key.
Philosophically, I think it's inappropriate to criminalise a point of view, even one with which I'm vehemently in disagreement.
Finally, is it ethical to seek what is effectively a two-tier justice system - one level of prosecution for offenders targeting victims either randomly or specifically aiming at members of the majority, and another level of prosecution for offenders targeting members of a minority? Shouldn't we seek equality of opportunity for members of minorities, rather than discrimination, preferential or otherwise?
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-06-02 12:39 pm (UTC)If person A bashes person B, motivation should be considered in the sentence, not in terms of the charge.
From a purely practical point of view, I cannot see how being able to charge an alleged offender with (for example) both assault and a hate crime is going to make things better for the victim or necessarily worse for the alleged offender - or, more importantly from a big picture POV, reduce the likelihood of similar future assaults.
IMHO, in order to reduce the level of violence in a society, more prevention (through campaigns and law enforcement visibility), better complaint clear-up rates (through increased law enforcement patrols and investigations) and better conviction rates (through more effective investigations and prosecutions) are key.
Philosophically, I think it's inappropriate to criminalise a point of view, even one with which I'm vehemently in disagreement.
Finally, is it ethical to seek what is effectively a two-tier justice system - one level of prosecution for offenders targeting victims either randomly or specifically aiming at members of the majority, and another level of prosecution for offenders targeting members of a minority? Shouldn't we seek equality of opportunity for members of minorities, rather than discrimination, preferential or otherwise?