Indiana lawmakers are already making waves preparing legislation in January that would bring stiffer penalties to people who commit bias-motivated crimes.
On Thursday, Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, said he would introduce legislation that would include a sentence aggravator for what is being defined as “bias” crimes.
“Unfortunately we think biased crimes apply to race, gender and gender identity but it’s far more reaching than that,” he said.
The bill would allow a court to consider it an aggravating circumstance for criminal sentencing if a crime was committed with intent to harm or intimidate an individual based on certain factors including race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, political ideology, sexual orientation and status as a public safety. The bill does not make a hate crime a separate criminal offense but creates a sentencing aggravator if a crime committed was bias-motivated.
“Indiana is one of only five states without any sort of bias or hate crime statute,” Bohacek said. “It’s important for Hoosiers to know these hateful crimes will not be tolerated. No one should live in fear for being who they are or practicing what they believe.”
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Bohacek plans to introduce this bill during the 2018 legislative session.
Concerns over Indiana’s lack of hate crime law were reignited earlier this month after a white supremacist rally turned fatal in Charlottesville, Va., when a man plowed his vehicle into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring at least 19 others.
Attempts to create a law have failed for six consecutive years in the state Legislature.
A 2017 proposed hate crime bill would have allowed judges to impose stricter sentences for crimes motivated by race, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. The bill stalled in the Senate.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said state law already allows a judge to consider a criminal’s motivation during sentencing but also acknowledged that it may be time to clarify the law.
“I think it’s time to label now what we have as hate crime legislation to dispel really the misconception that it cannot be considered by a judge in sentencing because it can be,” Bosma said last week in Indianapolis.
Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, said he believes the recent rally in Charlottesville, Va., has brought to the attention of people around the country why hate crimes should be a legitimate concern.
“The fact that this hate crime issue is popping up all across the country brings recognition to how bad it’s been for several years and the good thing about it is that key people recognize that there is a need for this issue to be addressed,” he said.
Randolph emphasized the urgency for the Indiana judicial system to be able to recognize hate crimes and penalize offenders accordingly.
“We need more attention, more people getting involved with this and more people taking it seriously to the point where the courts can aide and minimize the effects of hate crime throughout the state of Indiana,” he said.
“So that’s my main concern, regardless of who proposes the bill, the main thing is getting it passed and implemented into the law.”
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