The Hate Behind Hate Crimes Laws

Ben Cunningham expounds on Maryland's "hate crimes" law to "protect" homeless people. The purpose of these laws is to give more power to prosecutors, plain and simple. If have a weak case on what is already a crime, they can slather on a "hate crimes" violation to make the expected cost of a defeat go up. The accused is then more likely to plead guilty to a lesser charge in order to avoid a longer jail sentence in the off chance that he is convicted.