Were You the Victim of a Hate Crime?

Hate crimes are notoriously vague because they cover a wide range of circumstances and definitions. If you've been the victim of a crime, it might also qualify as a hate crime, which refers to motivation. If the perpetrator damaged your person or your property because of your race, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation - and such motivation can be proven in court - you might be the victim of a hate crime.

Those who argue against hate crime statutes maintain that all violent crimes are motivated by hate. While this is undeniably true, the U.S. government on both the federal and the state levels have seen reason to single out crimes motivated by discrimination. In many cases, this translates into harsher punishments meeted out by the criminal justice system based on the war against hate.

If you are the victim of a hate crime, it might not be obvious that this is the case. Many times, police only discover after weeks of investigation that the perpetrator was motivated by hatred toward a particular group or type of people, at which time the charges are amended to reflect the new status. Different states have different laws regarding the prosecution and punishment of hate crimes, so it helps to know the laws in your particular area.

Were racial, ethnic or derogatory slurs issued?

One of the hallmarks of many hate crimes is the usage of racial slurs or derogatory remarks. The same is true of hate crimes against women or homosexuals, for which they are more than a few choice phrases. If your assailant used one of these terms before, during or after the attack, you should tell the investigating police officers this and request that it be charged as a hate crime.

Remember, however, that charges are brought at the sole discretion of the District Attorney's office. Even if you believe that you are the victim of a hate crime, you have virtually no control over how your case is prosecuted. Furthermore, these types of offenses are growing harder and harder to prosecute as new defenses come to light.

Have prior run-ins with the assailant revealed discriminatory tendencies?

In some cases, hate crimes are preceded by several run-ins with the assailant. For example, perhaps you are a member of an activist group that supports homosexual rights in your community. If you receive hate mail or encounter protesters who are against homosexual rights, and are then assaulted by one of them, your case might qualify as a hate crime. Although prior bad acts are usually inadmissible at trial, those related directly to the victim are not.

Do you know of any other victims who have been assaulted by the same person or group?

Hate crime statistics reveal that many offenders aren't prosecuted under hate crime statutes until they have assaulted more than one victim. This establishes a pattern of similar behavior, which can be brought in front of a jury. This is why it is important for police officers to thoroughly investigate a suspect's background. If other assaults have occurred against African Americans, for example, and no one else, it could be logically argued that the crimes are motivated by hate and discrimination.

Hate crimes can be difficult to prosecute.

There are certainly other indicators of a hate crime that were not covered in this article, but if you think that you have been a victim, know that justice may be difficult to obtain. Since the penalties for such offenses are usually more steep than those without, juries are less likely to convict.