GREENFIELD — Local lawmakers and the county prosecutor say a proposed hate crimes law might not have as much of an impact in Hancock County as it would in other parts of the state.
They are skeptical such a law would make a difference in prosecuting crimes and that existing laws should be strong enough to protect victims.
Indiana, however, is one of just five states in the country without laws specifically against crimes fueled by biases regarding race, religion and sexual orientation. In the first three weeks of the 2019 General Assembly session, lawmakers in both the House and Senate have introduced a combined 12 bills related to hate and bias crimes. Some are written broadly, and others have listed specific protected traits.
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Repeated efforts for an Indiana law have failed amid fierce opposition from conservatives who maintain it would unfairly create specially protected classes of victims and wrongly restrict free speech. Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, has said passing a hate crimes bill is a priority of his for the 2019 session.
Hate crime laws in other states vary to some degree but generally allow for stiffer sentences to be given to people who are convicted of crimes motivated by hatred or bias. Only Indiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Wyoming and Arkansas do not have those types of laws. Indiana Code Title X instructs law enforcement agencies to “collect information concerning bias crimes” and submit the data to the state.
Holcomb has also said adopting a hate crimes law is “the right thing to do” while emphasizing the state’s status of not having a law on the books was hurting business recruitment efforts.
Five of the 12 submitted bills at the Statehouse — four introduced by Democrats and one by a Republican — include a list of specific people groups protected, such as sexual orientation.
State Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, said he’s received mail from throughout his district saying Indiana already protects all people equally under the state constitution and that the general assembly shouldn’t pass laws to protect one group over others.
Crider said it’s difficult to comment on the bill this early in the session since most of the versions have different language attached. He’s expecting more lawmakers to introduce other hate crimes bills.
“Nobody wants to see anybody targeted for any reason,” Crider said. “I’m kind of curious to see how this conversation moves forward.”
State Rep. Bob Cherry, R-Greenfield, said he believes the bill needs to be written generally enough to cover all people groups, so lobbyists won’t later ask the legislature to add more protected traits.
“I’d hate to be so specific,” Cherry said. “Then when you do that, you leave one group out, and then we’re doing it again.”
A bill sponsored by Rep. Tony Cook, R-Cicero, covers crimes motivated by the victim’s age, race, religion, ethnicity, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry and status of being a law enforcement officer or military member.
One filed by Republican House Majority Caucus Chairman Greg Steuerwald, Danville, includes no such list while allowing a judge to consider the accused person’s bias because of the victim’s “real or perceived characteristic, trait, belief, practice, association, or other attribute the court chooses to consider.”
Whichever bill does move further through the House, if it includes specific protected traits or not, Cherry would probably support it, he said. He anticipates the bills will gain more steam later in the session.
Many of the bills call for judges to impose stricter sentences if the crime was driven by prejudice. Crider said he’s unsure if a hate crimes law would make a significant impact on a judge’s sentencing, adding he’s not aware of any hate crimes in Hancock County that would need to be addressed from a new law.
“I don’t like the idea of putting words on paper that don’t in fact get used for the purpose that they were intended,” Crider said.
Cherry said if someone is harmed through a crime incited by hate, it’s better for a prosecutor to focus more on the crime itself, such as murder or assault, instead of trying to determine the bias intent.
“A crime is a crime, regardless,” Cherry said.
Prosecutor Brent Eaton said in the 3,000 cases the county prosecutes each year, most of the office’s energy is spent on issues that affect the area on a daily basis, like drug offenses and protecting children from sexual predators.
Eaton said it’s difficult enough for police to find solid evidence to arrest drug dealers and sexual offenders in the county. Trying to determine whether a suspect wronged someone else based on hate could take longer to prove and deter police and the prosecution from focusing on the more severe crime, he said.
If a hate crimes bill does pass, Eaton said the prosecutor’s office will remain focused on the day-to-day issues most pressing for Hancock County.
“We here in this office are dedicated to working very hard for all members of the public, and if they’re a victim or in the justice system any way, shape or form, we
are strongly committed to treating all people fairly and impartially, with a sense of justice of whatever the situation may be,” Eaton said.
