Hate Crimes

Final English Paper
By
Joe Mela

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 almost 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, "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,... [continues]

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