Minnesota is considering making changes to how the state views hate crimes to ensure crimes that are motivated by racial bias receive fair punishment.
A problem with the current hate crime laws was seen when prosecutors announced charges against the four white men accused of shooting five black protesters during the protests near the Minneapolis 4th Precinct. Despite the fact that the incidence clearly centered around racial tensions, none of the four men were charged with a hate crime. Instead, they were charged with second-degree riot, and the shooter faces five counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon because those charges carry heavier sentences than the hate crime law.
“All of those sentences are longer than any hate crime designation,” said Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman.
The fact that racially motivated crimes of this nature are better prosecuted as if they were committed without bias caught the eye of Minnesota DFL State Senator Ron Latz.
“There apparently has not been these kind of cases around until recently that had brought this concern to the forefront,” Latz said.
Currently Only a Misdemeanor
Under the current law, a crime that is racially motivated can only result in misdemeanor charges, not a felony. Senator Latz pointed to another recent situation – where a woman was assaulted for speaking a foreign language, and the offender was not charged with a hate crime because charging it as simple assault meant the aggressor would face a gross misdemeanor charge – to highlight how the current hate crime law just doesn’t get it right.
Senator Latz hopes to create an enhanced penalty that would add racial bias to more severe crimes, like gross misdemeanors and felonies. He plans to propose such a bill at the State Legislature during the next session.
According to crime data provided by the FBI, there were 98 reported hate crimes across 24 Minnesota cities in 2014. Of the potential factors that could contribute to a hate crime (race, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and other factors), race was the biggest factor in hate crimes last year.
Related source: KSTP
