University of Baltimore Law Review Volume 45 | Issue 2 Article 6 2016 The aM tthew hepS ard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act: A Criminal Perspective Meredith Boram University of Baltimore School of Law,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Race Commons, and the Sexuality and the Law Commons Recommended Citation Boram, Meredith (2016) "The aM tthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act: A Criminal Perspective," University of Baltimore Law Review: Vol. 45: Iss. 2, Article 6. Available at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol45/iss2/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Baltimore Law Review by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE MATTHEW SHEPARD AND JAMES BYRD, JR., HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT: A CRIMINAL LAW PERSPECTIVE Meredith Boram* I. INTRODUCTION [H]ate crimes ... leave deep scars not only on the victims, but on our larger community. They weaken the sense that we are one people with common values and a common future. They tear us apart when we should be moving closer together. They are acts of violence against America itself.. As part of our preparation for the new century, it is time for us to mount an all-out assault on hate crimes, to punish them swiftly and severely, and to do more to prevent them from happening in the first place.