Hate Crimes
...e penalty than other crimes. The Unites States is taking a big step in the hate crime legislation. The federal government and many U.S. states have hate crimes legislation that increases the sentences of criminals who have been found guilty of hate crimes. Most legislation covers at least race and religion as protected classes. A hate-crime is more than a crime against an individual. It normally victimizes not only a stranger, but is intended to terrorize a whole group of people (blacks, gays, lesbians). Hate crimes against African-Americans is on the rise. According to the FBI Report on Hate Crimes, 7,755 hate crimes were reported to the FBI by all law enforcement agencies. Sixty-five percent were race or ethnicity-motivated, two-thirds of which were directed toward African Americans. So this means that the greatest number of hate crimes of any kind is perpetrated against African-Americans. There are many types of hate crimes that African-Americans endure. Some of the most popular types of non-violent crimes include lynching, burning of crosses and burning of churches. Church burning is the most common. Churches have always been the most important independent institution in the black community, and those who would attack African-Americans have often attacked their churches. A USA Today investigation found that, although a number of white churches have burned since January 1995, the rate of black church arsons is more than double what it had been in earlier years. As a result there are far fewer black churches than white churches. Since 1990, at least 13 of the arsons of black churches took place in January around Martin Luther King Day. One of the most famous hate crimes in recent history is the beating of Rodney King. According to Doug Linder in 2001, it was on the early morning hours of March 3, 1991. Tim and Melanie Singer of the California Highway patrol spotted King’s car speeding on the freeway at 117 miles per hour. King ignored the flashing lights and sirens. When King finally cooperated, he got out of the car and acted very relaxed. Sergeant Stacy Koon suggested that King was on some sort of drug. Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno were the officers caught on tape giving the beating. After the incident, the officers involved in the beating boasted on how bad they beat King. The three men were acquitted from the charge. This is the beginning of the L.A. riots. The African-Americans of the neighborhoods attacked the streets with reckless abandon. They were doing all of this in support of Rodney King. The riots lasted five days with a lot of damage. Fifty-four people were dead, hundreds of people were injured, there was over one billion dollars in property damage, and over 7,000 people were arrested. This is without a doubt one of the most violent hate crimes in U.S. history. Another one of the more common acts of hate crimes are churche...