Comments on: New partnership to combat hate crimes http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/02/13/new-partnership-to-combat-hate-crimes/ the gay community's news source Sun, 19 May 2013 16:18:35 +0000 hourly 1 By: brian http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/02/13/new-partnership-to-combat-hate-crimes/#comment-92990 brian Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:55:01 +0000 http://www.washingtonblade.com/?p=59240#comment-92990 “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is deeply committed to prosecuting hate crimes against members of the LGBT community,” said U.S. Attorney spokesperson William Miller in a statement. “Community impact statements are an important tool for informing judges at sentencing about the effects of a crime that go beyond the direct victim,” he said.
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This is a fine initiative between USAO and GLBTAO. And it will help secure tougher sentencing– which is on the BACK end of the criminal justice ‘conveyor belt’– if you will. But it is simply a fact that what one ‘knows’ is the motive for a crime may be very different than what one can prove– beyond a reasonable doubt– in a court of law.

The mayor and GLBTAO should be more honest in stating that reality of our justice system. That reality, however, makes community impact statements all the more important when a hate/bias motive can not reasonably be prosecuted, but some permitted evidence of hate/bias can still inform a judge’s sentencing. I don’t think our major problem is with USAO.

However, we do need far greater scrutiny of MPD and the reasons behind Chief Lanier’s stonewalling rhetoric and non-cooperation stance against Human Rights Watch for its report of MPD mistreatment of rape and sexual assault victims in DC when those crimes are reported to MPD.

We should be far more concerned about the failure of the mayor to effectively address– or even express concern for rape and sexual assault victims intimidated, insulted and ignored by his MPD’s mistreatment when those rape and sex assault victims reported the crimes to MPD.

That’s an outrage. And it’s an outrage Mayor Gray hasn’t spoken out about it.

According to last month’s Human Rights Watch report, MPD intimidation and mistreatment occurred in about a third of cases HRW investigated.

I’m guessing HRW would have found similar discriminatory results by MPD had they studied anti-LGBT hate crimes as well.

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