Hate Crimes Essay -- essays research papers fc

Final English Paper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have you ever had a crime committed against you? In today’s society we are faced with crime all around us. There are crimes committed out of rage, revenge, jealousy, love, greed, etc; but there is another type of crime, or one could say act of violence, called hate crimes. Have you ever thought maybe that crime was committed against just because of your racial background, or religious beliefs? Throughout this country’s history, hate crimes have taken place, either by known groups who hate and, most commonly, individuals that are inspired by hate. Not until recently have the people of this country ever wanted to pass a law that would punish the guilty to an even higher extent because the crime was committed out of hate. There are two sides to every issue. Whether or not the issue is valid or if it is an unrealistic concept created by the media or by the federal government, then, in my opinion, passing a law of this type is totally unrealistic. It is a lmost impossible to prove that a crime is committed out of a bias hate. I feel that a law that punishes hate crimes should not be passed. One main question that would be asked is, â€Å"Prove it?† Saying just that, in some cases destroys the effectiveness of the law, especially if and when the crime is committed when both parties share the same sexual, ethnic or religious back- ground. Now, I think that the money grubbing lawyers and the media would love this new law because, for one, the prosecuting lawyers would, in many cases, use it against the defendant, especially if it was a white vs. black case, or vice versa. The media would emphasize racial discrimination just because the general public, especially minorities, love controversies that may make them sympathetic. Also, I would think that this law would tie up more court time. If you think about it, there would be more cases popping up all over the place and also what ever case is going to be herd the word, hate, would probably be thrown in there as well which would drag the case out even longer. Maybe, not as much in criminal cases, but more so in civil s uites. Look at how â€Å"sue happy† the public is now. This law would only add to it. For example, people sue their neighbors for their pets going to the bathroom on their lawn. How ridiculous is that? Another example is a lady put here dog in the microwave t... ...t â€Å"rape with hate† or â€Å"murder with hate.† You should be punished for the actual crime, not your feelings that go along with it. Now even if this law were passed, would the police and courts enforce it? If they didn’t, what would be the point of passing it to begin with. I guess you could say that about any law but in my eyes I could see our â€Å"system† twisting everything around. They would probably convict innocent people of â€Å"Hate crimes† and let the guilty people of â€Å"Hate† go. I don’t think it is fair to add another category to the crime list that could in the long run, ruin some peoples lives. I just think that it is wrong. I hope you see my point of view and agree with my opinion. Bibliography Jacobs, James. Hate Crimes. Challenging Intolerance 14 Nov. 2000 >http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=PA0212H- s57549sl&type=ART&artno=†¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Grigera, Elena. Hate Crimes. Corrections Today   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 Nov. 2000 >http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=PA0212H-s57520sl&type=Art&artno= Walker, Samuel. Hate Speech. The History of an American Controversy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚