Punishing Hate : : Bias Crimes under American Law / / Frederick M. Lawrence.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter HUP eBook Package Archive 1893-1999
• VerfasserIn: Lawrence, Frederick M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Cambridge, MA : : Harvard University Press, , [2022]; ©1999
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (285 p.)

Bias crimes are a scourge on our society. Is there a more terrifying image in the mind's eye than that of the burning cross? Punishing Hate examines the nature of bias-motivated violence and provides a foundation for understanding bias crimes and their treatment under the U.S. legal system. In this tightly argued book, Frederick Lawrence poses the question: Should bias crimes be punished more harshly than similar crimes that are not motivated by bias? He answers strongly in the affirmative, as do a great many scholars and citizens, but he is the first to provide a solid theoretical grounding for this intuitive agreement, and a detailed model for a bias crimes statute based on the theory. The book also acts as a strong corrective to recent claims that concern about hate crimes is overblown. A former prosecutor, Lawrence argues that the enhanced punishment of bias crimes, with a substantial federal law enforcement role, is not only permitted by doctrines of criminal and constitutional law but also mandated by our societal commitment to equality. Drawing upon a wide variety of sources, from law and criminology, to sociology and social psychology, to today's news, Punishing Hate will have a lasting impact on the contentious debate over treatment of bias crimes in America.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: The Challenges of Punishing Hate -- CHAPTER 1 What Is a Bias Crime? -- CHAPTER 2 How Are Bias Crimes Different? -- CHAPTER 3 Why Are Bias Crimes Worse? -- CHAPTER 4 Who Is Guilty of a Bias Crime? -- CHAPTER 5 Are Bias Crime Laws Constitutional? -- CHAPTER 6 What Is the Federal Role in Prosecuting Bias Crimes? -- CHAPTER 7 Why Punish Hate? -- APPENDIXES -- Appendix A: State Bias Crime Laws -- Appendix B: Sample Discriminatory Selection Statutes -- Appendix C: Sample Racial Animus Statutes -- Appendix D: Sample "Because of" Statutes -- Appendix E: Sample "Because of" Statutes with Additional Element of Maliciousness -- Appendix F: Sample Institutional Vandalism Statutes -- Appendix G: Other Relevant Statutes -- Historical Appendix -- Notes -- Bibliographical Essay -- Acknowledgments -- Index