Almost all states, including Michigan, have some type of hate crime law that addresses offenses committed because of the identity (or perceived identity) of a victim. Michigan defines a hate crime as one “motivated by prejudice, hate or bias.”
The Michigan Hate Crime Act took effect last year. It expanded the state’s previous Ethnic Intimidation Law to include more protected characteristics and harsher penalties.
As a key supporter of the legislation says, a hate crime is unique because it “impacts an entire community.” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said, “Our state’s previous hate crime laws were inadequate to deter and properly prosecute those that target Michigan residents with fear and hatred, simply for who they are.”
Hate crime offenses
The offenses included in the law involve:
- Using “force or violence” against another person
- Causing bodily injury
- Stalking
- Damaging, defacing or destroying another person’s property
It also includes making a “true threat” to commit any of these offenses. That’s defined as a “statement in which the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent” to harm someone or cause damage. The law notes that someone is “not liable for communicating a true threat if the speaker was unaware that the individual or the group of individuals could regard the statement as threatening violence.”
Protected characteristics
To be charged with a hate crime, the alleged offense must be against someone for their actual or perceived:
- Age
- Disability (physical or mental)
- Ethnicity
- Gender identity/expression
- National origin
- Race/color
- Religion
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
The law also applies to anyone who is targeted because of their “association or affiliation with an individual or group of individuals” who have one or more of these protected characteristics even if the person attacked was an ally.
Penalties
As noted, the penalties have been strengthened. Hate crime charges are felonies. A first offense could carry up to a two-year prison sentence and/or $5,000 fine. The penalties increase with subsequent offenses, the seriousness of the offense, when a “dangerous weapon” is used and under other circumstances.
Those charged with a hate crime are generally charged with the underlying or “base” offense as well. For example, they could face an assault charge as well as a hate crime charge if they’re accused of attacking someone based on their race or perceived sexual orientation.
For prosecutors to prove that someone committed a hate crime, they need to prove the alleged perpetrator’s intent. That’s often not as clearcut as proving that they committed the actual offense unless it involved something like graffiti using slurs targeted at someone’s race, faith or other protected characteristic. For this, and many other consequential reasons, anyone who is facing hate crime charges, regardless of their circumstances, should get sound legal guidance as early as possible.