Real-Life Hate Crime Cases
A hate crime is a criminal offense that is motivated in whole or part by hatred, bias, or prejudice against a protected class. A hate crime may be committed against individuals or groups of people who are members of a protected population. Its effects, however, are not limited to victims and other members of their groups but are also felt on micro and macro levels by communities.
For this Major Assessment, you will examine four real-life hate crime cases in order to determine what characteristics make each a hate crime. You will also examine the effects of each hate crime, potential community responses, and how criminal justice organizations can address the impact of hate crimes.
Define hate crimes, generally. (1 paragraph)
For each of the four hate crimes below, describe the specific factors in each case that made it a hate crime. (1–2 paragraphs each)
Matthew Shepard
Charleston church shooting
Private Barry Winchell
Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha
Choose one of the four cases, and imagine it occurred in your community. Describe the impact this hate crime might have had on your community. In your response, consider other members of the protected class as well as the community as a whole. Then explain how the community should respond (e.g., with gatherings, town halls, educational programming, volunteer work) and why. (3–4 paragraphs)
Still imagining the crime occurred in your community, how should the criminal justice organizations in your community address its impact? For instance, you may consider community partnerships, additional training for officers, or additional resources for these types of crimes (e.g., a task force). (2–4 paragraphs)
Identify three specific action items that could be planned or done to prevent further hate crimes. (1–2 paragraphs)
Hate Crimes – The Assignment
Your Name
Course and Section
Professor’s Name
Date
Hate crimes are defined as criminal offenses that are fueled by hatred, bias, and prejudice toward a person and sometimes toward a group of people (Gover et al., 2020). Groups that are affected are based on their affiliation with a protected class, such as race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. Individuals who are targeted by hate crimes always affect people who share the same characteristics as them, for example, race, skin color, and physical disability. The community of the person targeted by these hate crimes is also affected indirectly.
Hate Crimes Samples
1 Matthew Shepard
Matthew is a young man who is identified as gay. In 1998, he was brutally attacked just because of his sexual orientation. The perpetrators targeted him mainly just because of his sexual orientation, which categorized this crime as a hate crime. The community that Matthew belongs to is also affected as it poses fear to the group of LGBTQ+ that are living in their community.
2 Charleston church shooting
In 2015, churchgoers at the Charleston church were shot. The shooter mainly targeted African American churchgoers during their prayer session at the church. The racial motivation behind the shooter's act is qualified as a