from the AJC.com
Bill to toughen hate-crime penalties clears Senate panel
By SONJI JACOBS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/14/07
Georgia lawmakers once again are considering a proposal that would impose harsher penalties for people who are found guilty of committing hate crimes.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted 7-2 in favor of Senate Bill 211, which would give judges more flexibility in doling out stronger penalties for people who target victims based on their race, religion, gender, national origin, gender identity or sexual orientation. The measure now goes to the Senate Rules Committee, but it may face an uphill battle because several lawmakers have concerns about the bill's language.
Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), the bill's sponsor, pushed similar legislation last year. That bill cleared the judiciary committee, but the Senate's leadership declined to move it to the Senate floor for debate and a vote. Fort re-wrote the bill as an amendment to a noncontroversial House bill on criminal proceedings. The measure passed the Senate, but a few days later, the House stripped the amendment from the bill. Fort decided to try again this year.
"Hate crimes are a different type of crime," Fort said. "The victims undergo extreme stress. They involve terrorizing an individual and an entire community. I believe they entail a higher penalty."
The bill allows judges to increase the sentence or fine for a misdemeanor deemed a hate crime by 50 percent up to the maximum authorized by law.
If the crime is a felony, the judge may increase the sentence by up to five years, not to exceed the maximum authorized by law. In addition, any person convicted of a felony that is defined as a hate crime would not be eligible for parole until he or she has served at 90 percent of his or her sentence. The bill excludes minors from the enhanced hate crime penalties.
Fort led lawmakers in passing a hate crime bill in 2000, but the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the measure in October 2004. In a unanimous decision, the justices wrote that the measure was "unconstitutionally vague" because the law did not specify to which group of victims it applied.
SB 211 lists the groups of people to whom the hate crimes law would apply. But several lawmakers expressed concern that the bill's language excludes some groups. Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton), for example, said he would like to see other groups, such as homeless people, included in the hate crimes bill. But it's difficult to pinpoint the appropriate language to legally define someone who is homeless, Carter said.
"When you can't come up with the correct verbiage, sometimes that means you don't need a law," said Carter.
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) and Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw) voted against the bill.
Georgia is one of five states - Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming - without any type of hate crimes law, according to Bill Nigut, southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Vernon Keenan, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, also testified in favor of the bill.
"I'm absolutely convinced that hate crimes are a special category of crime that needs the attention of the Legislature and the citizens of this state," Keenan said.
By SONJI JACOBS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/14/07
Georgia lawmakers once again are considering a proposal that would impose harsher penalties for people who are found guilty of committing hate crimes.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted 7-2 in favor of Senate Bill 211, which would give judges more flexibility in doling out stronger penalties for people who target victims based on their race, religion, gender, national origin, gender identity or sexual orientation. The measure now goes to the Senate Rules Committee, but it may face an uphill battle because several lawmakers have concerns about the bill's language.
Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), the bill's sponsor, pushed similar legislation last year. That bill cleared the judiciary committee, but the Senate's leadership declined to move it to the Senate floor for debate and a vote. Fort re-wrote the bill as an amendment to a noncontroversial House bill on criminal proceedings. The measure passed the Senate, but a few days later, the House stripped the amendment from the bill. Fort decided to try again this year.
"Hate crimes are a different type of crime," Fort said. "The victims undergo extreme stress. They involve terrorizing an individual and an entire community. I believe they entail a higher penalty."
The bill allows judges to increase the sentence or fine for a misdemeanor deemed a hate crime by 50 percent up to the maximum authorized by law.
If the crime is a felony, the judge may increase the sentence by up to five years, not to exceed the maximum authorized by law. In addition, any person convicted of a felony that is defined as a hate crime would not be eligible for parole until he or she has served at 90 percent of his or her sentence. The bill excludes minors from the enhanced hate crime penalties.
Fort led lawmakers in passing a hate crime bill in 2000, but the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the measure in October 2004. In a unanimous decision, the justices wrote that the measure was "unconstitutionally vague" because the law did not specify to which group of victims it applied.
SB 211 lists the groups of people to whom the hate crimes law would apply. But several lawmakers expressed concern that the bill's language excludes some groups. Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton), for example, said he would like to see other groups, such as homeless people, included in the hate crimes bill. But it's difficult to pinpoint the appropriate language to legally define someone who is homeless, Carter said.
"When you can't come up with the correct verbiage, sometimes that means you don't need a law," said Carter.
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) and Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw) voted against the bill.
Georgia is one of five states - Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming - without any type of hate crimes law, according to Bill Nigut, southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Vernon Keenan, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, also testified in favor of the bill.
"I'm absolutely convinced that hate crimes are a special category of crime that needs the attention of the Legislature and the citizens of this state," Keenan said.