May They Get the Message : Judge rightly levies a strong sentence in homophobic hate crime

Hate-crime assaults--in which people are attacked because of their race, gender or sexual orientation--have risen alarmingly in recent years in Southern California. That’s why Orange County Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey last week was so very right to send a strong message that such violations will not be tolerated.

Dickey sentenced a 19-year-old to 10 years in prison for the near-fatal beating of a 56-year-old man in Laguna Beach who the attacker believed was gay.

The attacker, Jeffrey Michael Raines, was a high school student at the time of the beating. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder, assault and taking part in a hate crime as defined by state law.

An accomplice who pleaded guilty to assault and committing a hate crime was sentenced to a year in county jail.

Judge Dickey denounced the savagery of the attack: Nearly a year later the victim still needs help walking and must continue to undergo physical therapy. Although both assailants expressed remorse, Dickey said the attack was clearly a hate crime and involved “excessive violence and viciousness.”

The Los Angeles Human Rights Commission has reported that gay men are frequent targets of hate crimes. In Orange County, gays and lesbians said the attack confirmed their fears of being victimized because of their sexual orientation. However, some were reassured by the speedy police work and community condemnation of the assault.

In a separate Orange County case, after pleading guilty to federal charges members of a self-described racist group known as the Fourth Reich Skinheads were required to meet last month with Holocaust survivors. That was an innovative effort at remediation.

Along with tough sentencing, such education of defendants is a valuable weapon against hate crimes. However, greater efforts are required in homes, in churches and in schools to ensure we all understand that everyone deserves to live free from the outrage of being abused for reasons of race, religion or sexual orientation.