Tennessee sees large rise in disability and religion based hate crimes

Nashville, Tennessee (May 31, 2009) - A report released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says there was a big increase in 2008 in bias against people based on disability and religion. According to the report, the only decline in reported cases of hate crimes in Tenessee was in crimes based on ethnicity. As reported in AP/Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Tennesseean, crimes against people with disabilities rose 88 percent to 42 total offenses, as the total number of hate crimes in the state rose 38 percent to 515 in 2008. Most of the hate crimes against people with disabilities involved theft, assault and burglaries. Experts said the increase could be attributed to the poor economy. From the article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

“When people are feeling desperate and pressured in times like these … you’re going to try to find the most vulnerable person to victimize,” said Carol Westlake, executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition.

and

“I think we sort of overall are seeing, particularly in Tennessee, a little bit of a general backlash against people with disabilities,” Westlake said. “I think that has to do with state budget crisis and money being tight everywhere.

“There’s this underlying message that too often people with disabilities aren’t as valued because there’s a perception they’re not contributing to society and the economics of the state,” making victimization easier, she said.

The article in full is here.

(h/t Patricia E Bauer)

A bill currently before the Ohio Senate would grant people with disabilities protection under Ohio's hate crime laws.

According to this report in the Cincinnati Enquirer. If the bill is passed, it would put disability in the same category as race, color, religion, and national origin.

The impetus for adding disability to hate crime laws was the violent attack, in February, of Ashley Clark, a Ohio high school senior, by two teenage boys. Clark, who has intellectual disabilities, was allegedly tied up, robbed and beaten with a baseball bat. Her hair was cut off and her prom dress destroyed. Her disability appears to be a key reason why she targeted.

"This will put people on notice that the state of Ohio views those actions with the same severity as they do crimes against any other group," said Lin Laing, executive director for Center for Independent Living Options in Cincinnati.

The blogspot What Sorts of People also has a post about the bill and raises some important questions about it. How for example, do we determine when a crime committed against a person with a disability is a hate crime? You can read the post in full here.