Lack of Punishment Doesn't Fit the Crime: America's Tepid Response to Bias-Motivated Crime
Studies in Law, Politics, and Society
ISBN: 978-1-80071-221-8, eISBN: 978-1-80071-220-1
Publication date: 18 January 2021
Abstract
For more than a decade, public opinion polls have shown that nearly 80% of Americans support hate crime legislation as a response to violence committed because of the victim's race, color, religion, and sexual orientation. Americans' widespread support for legislation aimed at bias-motivated crimes is not matched by the federal and state efforts devoted to responding to such crimes. This chapter describes the myriad factors contributing to America's limited police and prosecutorial response to hate crimes. After a discussion of the patchwork of state and federal legislation aimed at hate crimes, the chapter analyzes the substantial legislative and administrative structures that hamper the enforcement of hate crime law in the United States.
Keywords
Citation
Bell, J. (2021), "Lack of Punishment Doesn't Fit the Crime: America's Tepid Response to Bias-Motivated Crime", Sarat, A. (Ed.) Studies in Law, Politics, and Society (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 85), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-433720210000085003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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