Reply #24: Yes, I was wrong. [View All]

[gorfle]

Well, that's not what you said at first. Here's what you said at first.

>>Hate crime equals thought crime.
>>If you commit a crime, the penalties should be the same regardless of why you committed it.

Yes, I was wrong, as others had pointed out, there is already a degree system that takes into account whether the killing was deliberate, or accidental, etc. Here are the most common degrees of murder:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder#Degrees_of_murder_in_the_United_States

1. First Degree Murder: An intentional killing by means of poison, or by lying in wait, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated action.
2. Second Degree Murder: Homicide committed by an individual engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony.
3. Third Degree Murder: Any other murder (e.g. when the intent was not to kill, but to harm the victim).


I think this is a sufficient set of hierarchy for murder classifications. Intentional, premeditated murder, as an accomplice, and everything else.

It would seem to me that any murder that was a direct result of killing someone because, for example, they were gay, that this would already be classified as first degree (intentional) murder.

And I don't think the two go together. You seem to be indicating you're OK with *some* delving into the motivation, etc., you just draw the line at crimes directed toward people because the group they are in. I would submit that's *worse* than anything you could feel against an individual.

Basically, today it looks like the law only cares about two motivations: Did you intend to kill them or did you not intend to kill them.

I think this is sufficient delving into motivations for murder. Beyond this, why does it matter what the reasoning was? Is first, second, or third degree murder worse because the perpetrator hated his victim for some reason? I don't think so.