Verified Document

Hate Crime And Discuss A Research Question Term Paper

¶ … hate crime" and discuss a research question regarding the term. Hate crimes are crimes against individuals or groups based on hatred or non-acceptance of their race, religious beliefs, or other issues. Are hate crimes protected as "free speech" by the First Amendment? Hate crimes can be defined differently by each state with laws against hate crimes. These experts, James B. Jacobs and Jessica S. Henry, define hate crimes as "a crime against persons or property motivated in whole or in part by racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual orientation and other prejudices" (Jacobs and Henry). Because hate crimes can fall under different definitions, they can also be interpreted differently. One large question regarding hate crimes is their relationship to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees free speech to all Americans. Are hate crimes simply a First Amendment issue, or do they go much farther than free speech in American today?

Research shows hate crimes are on the upswing in America today. Nazi slogans painted on Jewish temples, racial slurs against Muslims, and murder of young homosexuals have all occurred in the United States in the past few years, along with many other crimes that may go unreported. While America is proud of the freedom she offers to everyone, there is still bigotry and hatred in America, and much of it comes out in hate crimes against minorities and religious groups. Many people arrested for hate crimes feel their crimes are against a group rather than a...

This is why many courts have upheld the right of groups like the Ku Klux Klan to march, and to burn white crosses during their meetings. This is a right of free speech, whether other people agree with it or not. However, many hate crimes take free speech to another level. Some people who commit hate crimes cause physical damage or vandalism, and this goes beyond the realm of free speech. Indeed, the Supreme Court has ruled on this very issue. One law expert writes, "In Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia, 435 U.S. 829 (1978), the [Supreme] Court held that actual evidence of possible societal harm was necessary to justify regulation of expression" (Brooks). Thus, freedom of expression is ruled free speech, but when a hate crime crosses the line, it is still a crime, and not a free speech issue, although there are many who might try to argue that their hate crime was really simply a voicing of their opinion. One legal expert uses the following example, "For example, a defendant facing a penalty enhancer for carrying a gun during a bank robbery could argue, say, that he was expressing his strong opposition to the capitalist system" (Brooks). However, this argument would fail because his actual committing of the crime could cause physical harm to others in the bank, and so, his robbery is more than opposition, it is victimization and physical, rather than just an expression…

Sources used in this document:
References

Anderson, James F., Laronistine Dyson, and Willie Brooks. "Preventing Hate Crime and Profiling Hate Crime Offenders." The Western Journal of Black Studies 26.3 (2002): 140+.

Brooks, Thomas D. "First Amendment - Penalty Enhancement for Hate Crimes: Content Regulation, Questionable State Interests and Non-Traditional Sentencing." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 84.4 (1994): 703-742.

Jacobs, James B., and Jessica S. Henry. "The Social Construction of a Hate Crime Epidemic." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 86.2 (1996): 366-391.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Understanding Why People Commit Hate Crimes
Words: 1063 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Hate Crimes The rise in the instances of hate crimes in liberal democracies is disturbing and it cries out for a better understanding as to why it occurs -- and what to do about it. What are the potential solutions to the ugly specter of hateful acts against people because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, nationality, the color of their skin or their gender? This paper reviews the literature

Hate/Bias Crimes in New Jersey
Words: 2722 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Hate is in fact moving the modern society away from freedom and democracy, and it is imperative that remedial measures are taken immediately to combat this. (Shulman, 1997) Some of the tools, other than legal options, can be education, and the promotion of social interaction between different groups. However, there are frequent criticisms of the law, stating that it is more 'reactive' than 'proactive', meaning that legal remedies are more

Crime and Its Impact on One Variable in Society LGBT Community
Words: 2088 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Crime of Rape on Men Despite the technological, moral and intellectual advancement of our society today, there are still those among us who condemn and abhor homosexuality and the people associated with it.The daily lives of many homosexual men are overshadowed by the fear of homophobic (an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people) hate crimes. It is a reality that their fear and risk of being abused or

Crime and Deviance Crimes and Increasing Criminal
Words: 3462 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Crime and Deviance Crimes and increasing criminal activities have become a major concern for the security enforcement agencies. They seek help from technology as well as social and psychological theories to prevent crimes and deal with them. The first priority of security agencies is to prevent crimes and the second priority is to control them by punishing the criminals so that they become an example for the society. This paper

Crime Victims
Words: 2804 Length: 9 Document Type: Question Answers

CRIME VICTIMS Crime Victims: An IntroductionThe particular problems faced by persons who experience hare crime are broadly characterized by the trauma and fear they go through resulting from the crime (Reilich & Chermak, n.a.). The fear of visiting outside places might increase within the victim�s and his family�s minds and he might be constrained to his home.The seriousness of cyberstalking could be estimated from the physical and mental effects it

Crime in America - The Racial and Class Implications
Words: 4614 Length: 14 Document Type: Term Paper

Race, Class & Crime The confluence of race, class and crime is a hot topic nowadays. This is especially true when discussing events or topics of various types. Very or fairly specific examples of this would include the recent shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO and the subsequent non-indictment of the officer who shot him despite the fact that Brown was not armed and the ongoing discussion about how paying

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now