The Bible allows the civil government to reward good deeds and punish wicked actions, as long as it does not impinge on God’s mandates. According to the Bible, everyone who resists authority is revolting against what God has established, and those who do so will bring punishment on themselves. Based on the biblical worldview, it is an appropriate activity of the civil administration’s authority to increase prison terms for lawbreakers who overtly perpetrate because of discrimination for the victim’s sex, race, or religion. Consequently, this is so because the administration’s authority, according to the Bible, includes punishing evil behavior and safeguarding the public’s health and safety. Therefore, hate crimes include immoral conduct and a risk to the wellbeing of the general populace, and the courts are without a doubt vested with the jurisdiction to decide how the perpetrators of these offenses should be punished.
In this context, hate crime refers to any illegal wrongdoing committed against a person because of that individual’s actual or imagined affiliation with behavioral qualities safeguarded under civil rights legislation. In addition, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a hate crime is “a felony act against people or entity that was inspired wholly or partially part by an offender’s prejudices against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, or gender identity. This definition applies to crimes committed against people. Deliberately attacking someone or property based on the characteristics above thus they may lead to rioting, dehumanization, and even genocide in some instances.
Furthermore, the Bible’s account of the Good Samaritan is a parable illustrating how people need to “love their neighbors as they love themselves.” Luke 10:25-37 makes it clear that “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and the second command is “love your neighbor as yourself. When others want assistance, such as the traveler battered on the road by thieves, the love for neighbors is tested. Jesus advises Believers to emulate the Good Samaritan and not the Priest and Levite as the former helped the needy, unlike the latter. In contrast, Proverbs 23:13 states that discipline should not be withheld from a kid since punishing them with the rod would not kill them. In other words, if the authority does not punish lawbreakers, the citizens will get accustomed to breaking laws.
Moreover, the Bible exacerbates in Micah 6:8 that “he has told you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord requires of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Throughout the brief history of the United States, the Bible’s teachings have been demeaned. For instance, in the 1950s, families would bring their children to see the racial violence against African Americans. It served as brainwashing, reinforcing that African Americans were inferior to other races. During the middle of the nineteenth century, there were numerous public executions in different states in the U.S.; therefore, the U.S. government must take additional precautions to guarantee fairness and avoid hate crime situations.
Previous legislation sought but failed, to broaden the scope of hate crime statutes. The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act (1994) and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009) provided federal assistance and technical assistance to state, municipal, and tribal governments to help them investigate, punish, and prevent hate crimes. In addition to the federal government, several states have implemented comparable legislation, such as the Wisconsin Hate Crimes Act. This legislation altered Wisconsin state law such that hate crimes that would have previously ended in a felony charge are now punishable by up to one year in county prison and a $10,000 fine. Hate crimes that were once classed as Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Further, for hate crimes that would have been categorized as felonies, the maximum punishment may be raised by more than five thousand dollars, and the maximum prison sentence can be extended by five years.
U.S. courts have affirmed sentences under which higher punishments for offenses driven by racism were permitted in the past. In 1993, in Wisconsin v. Mitchell, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin ruled that it is permissible to consider intent when sentencing an indicted plaintiff; hate crime advancements are consistent with federal anti-discrimination rules that forbid discrimination based on sex, color, race, religion, or national origin; and the state can single out bias-motivated crimes for special punishment. Nonetheless, the damaging effect on communities and families and hate crimes are the primary concern of the FBI’s Civil Rights program. Statistics indicate that religiously inspired hate crimes in Wisconsin increased in 2022, significantly indicating 43 %. Prior to 2022, most hate crimes in Wisconsin were inspired by racial prejudice. Whether the hate emanates from the victim’s skin color or the religion they choose to follow, tolerance for the growing number of hate crimes is not an option.
The State of Wisconsin’s augmentation of punishments for offenders who commit crimes out of hatred for the victim’s sex, race, or religion is a reasonable use of the civil government’s authority since hate crimes affect Americans’ safety and everyday lives. Hate crimes are on the rise in America and have caused tragic events. According to the Bible, the U.S. government’s mission is to protect its people, which it is doing by increasing hate crime punishments.
Bibliography
Craig S. Keener, NKJV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing To Life the Ancient World of Scripture (1st ed. 2016).
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Seeking victims of hate crimes. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Web.
Halley Sutton, FBI releases report on increased hate crimes, 13 Campus Security Report. 9 (2017).
Larry Ray, Violence and Society (2nd ed. 2018).
Ryan D. King, Hate Crimes: Perspectives on Offending and the Law, Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. 43 (2019).