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Senate Adds Expanded Death Penalty to Hate Crimes Bill

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 12:14:53 PM EST
Tags: death penalty, hate crimes laws (all tags)
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Two things I already knew: Sen. Jeff Sessions is a danger as the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate's Hate Crimes bill is ill-conceived legislation.

Things I now know: It's worse than I thought. The ACLU reports the Senate yesterday approved an Amendment by Jeff Sessions expanding the use of the death penalty for hate crimes. (Why not just life plus cancer as a penalty while he's at it?)

From the ACLU and then an action alert to get this removed.

The U.S. Senate yesterday passed an amendment extending the death penalty for certain hate crimes. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), was added to the hate crimes amendment to the Defense authorization bill that passed last Thursday. In a letter sent to Senators, the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to oppose this misguided and wrong expansion of the federal death penalty.

[More...]

“The expansion of the federal death penalty stands in stark contrast to furthering the cause of civil rights in the United States,” said Christopher Anders, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel. “The death penalty is always wrong. Capital punishment has been proven to be such an expensive and discriminatory punishment that Congress should oppose any effort to expand its scope and reach. At a time when evidence is mounting that scores of innocent defendants have been sentenced to death, Congress should steer clear of expanding the death penalty."

Let's also not forget:

In addition to this death penalty amendment, the ACLU also did not support the underlying hate crime provision in the defense authorization bill which would have a chilling effect on free speech and association. The U.S. House of Representatives has a welcome version of the hate crimes bill that protects speech and association as well as gives the federal government new authority to prosecute certain violent acts based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

From the NCADP:

Please contact your members of congress (House and Senate) to urge them to remove the death penalty provision when it goes to conference.

You can reach the US Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask for your Senator's or Representative's office. If you do not know who your two U.S. Senators or your Representative are, or for their direct office phone numbers and e-mail addresses, go here:

AFTER YOU CALL, please forward this message to your friends, family, etc. and ask them to call, and then please also send an e-mail to each of your two Senators and your Representative.

Update: From QWERTY

Now that both the Senate and House have okay'd Defense Department budget bills, the differences in them will be ironed out by a special committee before final votes are taken in both houses in September. This provides one last opportunity to change the Senate's version of hate crimes legislation before it goes to Obama's desk, meaning Sessions' amendments — which Gay Inc. is calling overreaching and outrageous — could still be yanked at the last minute. (The House passed a standalone hate crimes bill.)
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    Senate Adds Expanded Death Penalty to Hate Crimes Bill | 34 comments (34 topical)

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    What acts of violence against (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by nycstray on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 12:36:14 PM EST
    gender are considered a HC?

    Very good question... (none / 0) (#4)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 01:17:56 PM EST
    Since TL is a law blog, somebody could probably tell us in a nutshell. Please?

    Parent
    Perhaps This (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 01:30:54 PM EST
    Valerie Solanas in the Warhol shooting.

    From her manifesto:

    Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex. It is now technically feasible to reproduce without the aid of males (or, for that matter, females) and to produce only females. We must begin immediately to do so... The male is a biological accident.

    Also if Chris Matthews attacked a woman, there would be ample evidence that it would be a hate crime.... lol


    Parent

    Heh, there are days I agree (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by nycstray on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 02:22:41 PM EST
    with her, lol!~

    I am curious how they would define "hate" when it comes to violence against women. Do they have to hate all women or just "that woman"?

    Parent

    Seems Obvious To Me (none / 0) (#10)
    by squeaky on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 02:43:52 PM EST
    That hate crimes have to transcend the individual and must relate to hating a specific group.

    So if you hate someone with all your guts, and harm them, the penalty would not be enhanced.

    Parent

    I thought .the hate due to victim's gender, . (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by oculus on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 02:48:17 PM EST
    ethnicty, sexual orientation, etc. had to be the motive (beyond a reasonable doubt).  Could be other reasons of course.  

    Parent
    That's correct (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by Steve M on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 02:54:29 PM EST
    a hate crime must be (i) a crime of violence; (ii) a felony; and (iii) motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim.


    Parent
    Can you illustrate a situation (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by nycstray on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 03:14:06 PM EST
    where it would apply to a crime against women? Yes, I'm that dense right now :)

    Parent
    Maybe..... (none / 0) (#16)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 03:18:28 PM EST
    prostitutes? Green River killer. Serial killers often target women because of a deep-seeded hatred for them...at least according to the movies.


    Parent
    That may be true (none / 0) (#30)
    by Fabian on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 05:39:10 PM EST
    but usually it's because prostitutes are accessible and available and the crimes against low status prostitutes are less likely to be investigated well.

    Parent
    Perhaps (none / 0) (#21)
    by squeaky on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 03:24:38 PM EST
    If a male who belonged to this group assuming that it is a misogynist temple of sorts, assaulted a random woman, it could be a hate crime.

    And of course there is the case recently posted by TL last week:

    NY Jury Convicts on Manslaughter as Hate Crime in Transgender Killing

    Parent

    The he-man women haters club (none / 0) (#22)
    by jondee on Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 03:34:18 PM EST
    those misogynistic little twerps were probobly the ones behind all shoulder brushing and eye rolling during the primaries.

    Parent