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On October 6, 1998, a college student named Matthew Shepherd

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On October 6, 1998, a college student named Matthew Shepherd was brutally murdered in Colorado because he was gay. The murder brought attention to hate crimes and helped increase penalties on these types of crimes.
One of the arguments against hate crime laws is that hatred as motivation for a crime is difficult and costly to prove.
Do you agree? Why? . Do you think hate crimes are common in U.S.? Why? What are some of the difficulties and complexities involved in prosecuting a hate crime case? Discuss the pros and cons of placing penalties on hate crimes.

Analyze a recent case of hate crime that you might have come across. Do you think the judgment was rightfully given in that case? Why?

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Solution Summary

On October 6, 1998, a college student named Matthew Shepherd was brutally murdered in Colorado because he was gay. The murder brought attention to hate crimes and helped increase penalties on these types of crimes.
One of the arguments against hate crime laws is that hatred as motivation for a crime is difficult and costly to prove.
Do you agree? Why? . Do you think hate crimes are common in U.S.? Why? What are some of the difficulties and complexities involved in prosecuting a hate crime case? Discuss the pros and cons of placing penalties on hate crimes.

Analyze a recent case of hate crime that you might have come across. Do you think the judgment was rightfully given in that case? Why?

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Do you agree? Why?

-- I definitely agree that such hate crimes are hard to prove, and because they are hard to prove, it is also the main reason why they're not prosecuted as much as they should be. They are hard to prove because hate is purely an internal motive that is unlike other motives. When police question a suspect in a hate crime, very rarely would the offender immediately admit, "I did act X to this person, because he is gay, or because he is Hispanic," etc. The unwillingness of offenders to be honest about their actual motive makes hate crimes one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute.

Do you think hate crimes are common in U.S.? Why?

-- I do think hate crimes are very common in the U.S., but most hate crimes go unreported. Hate crimes are common because we live in a hostile environment, where crimes like terrorism are prevalent. Within that environment, we have a mix of thousands of different characteristics, including people of different races, from different ...

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