Homeless Hate Crimes

The homeless live a rough life worrying about how they will survive and ponder about when their next meal will be and now, they have to defend their lives as they are discriminated against. Between 1999 and 2005, there have been “472 acts of violence by housed people, resulting in 169 murders of homeless people and 303 victims of non-lethal violence.” Those that are targeted are homeless men, women, and even children. They are tortured by all sorts of crimes including being set on fire, kicked, beaten, harassed, and even decapitated.

Those who commit these acts are usually by an individual citizen. These perpetrators are separated into three categories: “mission offenders, scapegoat offenders, and thrill seekers.” The mission offenders feel that it is their job to “cleanse the world of a particular evil.” Scapegoat offenders are those that attack a racial or ethnic group that is continually growing in economic power. Thrill seekers are primarily teens that satisfy their own pleasures by harming the vulnerable, defenseless and disadvantaged.

An example of a homeless hate crime occurred over 1 year ago on January 12, 2006. Three teens in the age between 17 and 18 attacked three homeless men with baseball bats in the middle of the night at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Two of these victims suffered from “broken bones, lacerations, deep bruises, but also from the internal damage to both the mind and the body” and was listed in serious conditions. The third however, died due to head trauma and internal bleeding. This disturbing hate crime was captured on video and the shocking footage showed the teens smiling while beating the unfortunate homeless. But in the end, justice was served when the “three teens face murder charges for the death of Gaynor as well as aggravated assault for the other victims.”

Because hate crimes continue to grow, law enforcements would treat crimes like these with a tougher penalty. They would also work to protect the homeless from future attacks.

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/Hatecrimes.pdf