Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticCat
Most jurisdictions already have a system of aggravating and mitigating factors that are used to heighten or lesses punishment for a crime. To me, it makes more sense and is overall more consistent with criminal laws in general to make racial (or gender, or religious, or whatever) hatred an aggravating factor -- "that the crime was motivated by racial [or whatever else] hatred" -- rather than to charge someone for assault or murder and also charge them with a hate crime.
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The purpose behind hate crime legislation is to achieve formal legal guidelines for the aggravating and mitigating factors as they pertain to group membership. As opposed to relying on judicial and presecutorial discretion.