The Horror of Hate Crimes

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

It is the right of every person, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability, to be secure and protected from threats of reasonable fear, intimidation, harassment, and physical harm caused by activities of groups and individuals.

It is not the intent, by enactment of this section, to interfere with the exercise of rights protected by the Constitution of the State of Alabama or the United States.

The intentional advocacy of unlawful acts by groups or individuals against other persons or groups and bodily injury or death to persons is not constitutionally protected when violence or civil disorder is imminent, and poses a threat to public order and safety, and such conduct should be subjected to criminal sanctions.

b. The purpose of this section is to impose additional penalties where it is shown that a perpetrator committing the underlying offense was motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability.

c. A person who has been found guilty of a crime, the commission of which was shown beyond a reasonable doubt to have been motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability, shall be punished as follows:

Felonies:
On conviction of a Class A felony that was found to have been motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability, the sentence shall not be less than 15 years.

On conviction of a Class B felony that was found to have been motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability, the sentence shall not be less than 10 years.

On conviction of a Class C felony that was found to have been motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability, the sentence shall not be less than two years.

For purposes of this subdivision, a criminal defendant who has been previously convicted of any felony and receives an enhanced sentence pursuant to this section is also subject to enhanced punishment under the Alabama Habitual Felony Offender Act, Section 13A-5-9.

2. Misdemeanors:
On conviction of a misdemeanor which was found beyond a reasonable doubt to have been motivated by the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental disability, the defendant shall be sentenced for a Class A misdemeanor, except that the defendant shall be sentenced to a minimum of three months

But middle class Liberals who don't strive for anything more are only too happy to put a cap on the wealth of the people who dare to do much more.

You really are just like JGoldman10--you are flip sides of the same coin when it comes to religious bigotry.
And, for that reason, neither of you can stop baiting people on the issue of religion. And both of you wind up being nothing more than irritating and boringly repetitive on that topic.

Lovely now AM tell that nonsense to the to Latino kid charge with a hate crime against fellow Latinos.

Or the home owner who lost it with his neighbor lawn mowing and call him out with homosexual slurs because he was damn mad concerning the clippings not because he hated homosexuals as a group.

Or a Muslim boy who picked on a Muslim girl over her dressing in the Burqaa and was charge with a anti-Muslin hate crime.

Such laws by their very nature will be misused and are being misused.

The lawmakers who wrote the law you had posted clearly was aware of the fine line they was walking otherwise they would not had added this as a header to the law.
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It is not the intent, by enactment of this section, to interfere with the exercise of rights protected by the Constitution of the State of Alabama or the United States.
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People should be punish for their misdeeds not what they hell they might had been thinking when they did those deeds.

That is another of your absurd statements. Bias-crime laws do not punish opinions, whether these opinions are PC or not. Again, you demonstrate nothing more than your embarrassing ignorance of actual bias crime laws.

Are you quite sure that would be a hate crime under the laws of your state?

People should be punish for their misdeeds not what they hell they might had been thinking when they did those deeds.

if you have known non-pc opinion of a group and get into a fight with a member of that groups instead of a minor matter you are looking at being charge with a hate crime and then you have the task of proving what was in your mind before you got into that conflict.

You obviously haven't been reading my posts, or they are just going over your head. A "hate crime" is not a separate charge for an entirely new type of crime--it's most usually a penalty enhancement for a criminal act when that criminal act is determined, by a jury, to be bias-related. It does not add to the list of charges--it simply might increase the penalties for some charges. Bias-related elements of crimes must be determined by a jury--they would not enter into plea bargains. So, nothing you are saying is accurate.

Like I said YOU EXPEMPLIFY the need for hate crime legislation. Great legacy, huh?

Tell us, Bill, what makes you such a fine specimen that you can criticize educated lawmakers when you haven't even mastered grammar!

The only problem is if you are a black man for example you are 2.5 times more likely to be charge under the hate crime laws then a white person.

Will mankind ever stop hating on others merely because they are different in some way?

But seriously, why would you thank any god when you don't believe in any god? That seems an irrational and illogical thing to do, doesn't it? Thanking "something/someone" you don't even believe exists

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Tell us, Bill, what makes you such a fine specimen that you can criticize educated lawmakers when you haven't even mastered grammar!

Is not the state of Alabama that you posted the example of hate crime law also were ones of the states that passed a requirment that Obama must come up with his long form birth records before running for president during the height of the birther nonsense?

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Like I said YOU EXPEMPLIFY the need for hate crime legislation. Great legacy, huh?

As I am 62 years old and had yet to be charge with one crime so your current hate crime laws are unlikely to get me however if you could just get the SC to allow hate speak laws!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course being a non trusting type even with a hate speak law on the books it would be hard to track me down or prove that I made any given post.

What the heck does Obama have to do with the fact I only posted something to clarify the wording?

Why would you even think about it being hard to find you or prove anything if you haven't done anything wrong?

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What the heck does Obama have to do with the fact I only posted something to clarify the wording?

Your claims that the Alabama state legislator is full of bright and educated lawmakers needed looking into.

Off hand I do not remember anyone listing Alabama high is such areas.