Personal Injury and Criminal Defense Legal Blog

Hate Crimes on the Rise in US According to FBI

According to an AFP article, the number of hate crimes that occurred in the United States in 2008 rose slightly from figures recorded in 2007. That is, there were nearly 9,700 hate crimes in the U.S. in 2008 compared to 9,500 that occurred in 2007. Reportedly, more than half the crimes committed in the U.S. were racially motivated, with 6,927 perpetrators having been identified in those crimes. The data, provided by the FBI’s annual report on the matter, comes at the heels of the passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The Act is a bill that will expand the criteria for which an act is considered a hate crime to include acts of violence motivated by biases against sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

The majority of the reported hate crimes consisted of acts of intimidation or simple assault, although there were documented cases of murder and rape that did take place and fell into the category of a hate crime. While the FBI reasons that a two percent increase occurred with each successive year, human rights organizations argue that hate crimes increased more than four percent in 2008, and has risen by a total of 54% since the year 2000.

Hate crimes can take on a variety of forms. Consequently, the circumstances surrounding hate crimes are all different, and each case should be thoroughly examined on an individual. For hate crimes that occur in Seattle, the best defense against charges associated with such acts involves retaining the services of an experienced hate crime defense attorney that will fight to ensure that the rights of the accused are upheld in a court of law.

The aggressive and experienced Seattle criminal defense attorneys at McNeese & Trotsky, PLLC, will examine the circumstances surrounding your arrest, and will mount the strongest possible defense on your behalf given those circumstances. If you have been accused of a Seattle hate crime, don’t hesitate to contact our skilled defense attorneys as soon as possible. Please call us today at 888-282-6977 for a free and confidential evaluation of your Seattle defense case.

Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iOM3fJoqDlngnXxINrzhvB5rDqkg