JKSmith

Disgusting

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"HATE, although an overrated concept, is just one of the basic building blocks of society, and although it does not cause PROGRESS, it does cause society to change, be it for the better or for the worse.

LOVE, on the other hand, does cause PROGRESS. Or, at least some type of MORAL MOTIVATION does. Without one of these, there would be no WARS, no REVOLUTIONS, no RISE or FALL of societies, groups or belief systems." --JK Smith

Scarlett O'Hara

I think rape and pedophilia really should get put on the harshest penalty list. It's beyond imagination to why people could violate others (especially children) in such a way. I'd rather be murdered than raped. I have to admit I have no sympathy for those men who get beaten up in jail because they are pedophiles. Even criminals get that it's beyond animal behaviour.

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Guybrush

I thought hate crimes was just a motive. I mean if you have two scenarios - one where a driver hits and kills a person by accident and then another where the driver is a klan racist and runs down and kills a black person on purpose .. I would definetly punish the person who murdered someone on purpose more harshly.

I thought that was what hate crime was, just a very general description that implies motive.

edit :

This doesn't make sense entirely .. it doesn't say what you compare hate crimes to. If it's like I did and compare it to a crime which has no motive (accident), then yes - of course.

Without a comparison, the question is rather unclear and makes for a poor poll.

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Something Completely Different

anticipation

no, a murder's a murder.

Kool_Dude_HaMeR

what toretorden is describing, an accident, isn't murder though, it's manslaughter.

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TheBig3

How is it thought police?

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I've moved to a new address

The Unfan

Because you're getting extra sentencing based on the thought that caused you to commit the crime as opposed to the crime itself.

Just to make it clear.

Running someone over on accident: Manslaughter
Running someone over to collect insurance: Murder
Running someone over because of their skin color: Murder + Hate Crime sentence

Why is the last scenario deserving of more punishment exactly?

lucifer_sam

yeah Tore those are two completely different crimes (in America, anyways).

and i don't understand why there should be separate penalties. hate isn't a crime, why should hate crimes be penalized any more severely than normal circumstances? overzealous antagonism toward human prejudices really doesn't solve anything in the long run.

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first.am

Freebase Dali

Pshhhhhhhhh touche'.


But does a jury have to prove that the crime was a hate crime? Because if I shoot a black guy, me being a white guy, and the black guy happened to be breaking into my house... would there be a penalty for me protecting my life and property by virtue of the perpetrator's skin color?

Now say if that really was the case and I shot a black man who broke into my house and I felt my life was in danger, and fatally shot him, would racial equality be a factor at all?
Would I be ridiculed because I perceived a black man to be more threatening than a white man? Would it turn the case?
Would someone sympathize with him instead of me, based on my decision?

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Son of JayJamJah

Unless a black guy was driving, then it's murder

For the record, I do hate most crimes.

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Me, Myself and I United as One

If you're posting in the music forums make sure to be thoughtful and expressive, if you're posting in the lounge ask yourself "is this something that adds to the conversation?" It's important to remember that a lot of people use each thread. You're probably not as funny or clever as you think, I know I'm not.

My Van Morrison Discography Thread