Are Hate Crime Laws Bad Public Policy?
Advocates of stiffer penalties for those convicted of so-called “hate crimes” are responding to a legitimate public revulsion against persons who are motivated to attack by their victims’ race, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion or sexual orientation. So 42 states and the federal government have now enacted such laws. But a number of criminologists and other experts warn that these laws represent bad public policy — regardless of how well-intentioned they may be. • To begin with, they are unnecessary because convictions already result in very severe penalties for heinous crimes — while allowing judges sentencing discretion for less serious crimes. • A judge who has presided over hundreds of criminal trials for a variety of crimes is in the best position to individualize punishment to fit both the crime and the criminal — and should not be hampered by inflexible sentencing mandates. • Knowing prison space is scarce — as it is in many states — a judge may be forced to incarcerate
