Tagged: hate crime

Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Video Abstract

First Video Abstract Available! – “Isn’t Every Crime a Hate Crime?: The Case for Hate Crime Laws”

Isn’t Every Crime a Hate Crime?: The Case for Hate Crime Laws Randy Blazak VIDEO ABSTRACT: ARTICLE ABSTRACT: The process to create hate crime laws in the United States has wrestled with the core issues of freedom of speech and greater harm. This article looks at the evolution of bias crime laws, culminating with President Obama’s signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. The constitutionality of the laws is ‘discussed and suggestions...

Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Race and Distrust in a Texas Town

by theoryforthemasses The killing of a young black man in Paris, Texas last September reignited racial tensions in the community, tensions which federal mediators have recently been dispatched to resolve. The victim, Brandon McClelland, was run over and dragged by a pickup truck driven by two white men with whom McClelland was friends. Despite this reported friendship, some community members remain suspicious. Paris has a longstanding history of racial violence and conflict, and the killing is reminiscent of the James...