Hate Crimes Difficult to Prosecute
Your recent editorial on the prosecution of hate crimes (“The Outer Limits of Prosecution,” Sept. 21) demonstrated an appreciation of the difficulties that prosecutors face when attempting to prove the motivation behind acts of seemingly senseless violence. It also showed an understanding that the root causes of hate crimes must be combatted at the basic level of the family, the church, the school and the neighborhood.
Our office is very proud of the commitment we have made to scrutinize cases involving possible racial or other discriminatory motivation. Recently, for example, we obtained a four-year prison commitment against a defendant with a previously clean record, who had committed a racially motivated assault with a deadly weapon.
Your sensitivity to the difficulties of proving discriminatory motivation in a criminal court, together with your call for combatting the beliefs and attitudes which lead to hate crimes at all levels of society, is timely and appropriate.
MICHAEL R. CAPIZZI
District Attorney, Orange County
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