ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket as a hate crime. On Saturday, a gunman shot 13 people, 11 of whom were Black.
Ten of the shooting victims died.
11Alive went to the experts to verify what it takes a prove a hate crime took place.
THE QUESTION
What is needed in this case to prove a hate crime?
OUR SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Clear evidence of bias as the motivation is needed in order to meet the standard for hate crimes in New York.
WHAT WE KNOW
The law in the state of New York defines a hate crime as one that is motivated by bias. Here's the key criteria: An offender intentionally targets a person or group of people based on race, nationality, gender or other factors like religion.
11Alive's legal analyst Page Pate said to prove this in court, there needs to be clear evidence of the suspect's motivation at the time of the crime.
"The government has to show that the crime was committed not just by a prejudiced person, but because of that prejudice," Pate said.
He said it can be hard or easy to prove. It depends on the case and evidence.
"If you have someone whose published a manifesto or published their thoughts about racial inequality or racial justice, from that standpoint, then you can clearly see what their intent is," Pate said. "If you don't have things like a manifesto or social media post, you have to dig inside someone's mind and dig inside someone's heart to see why they really did what they did. Many times, it's proven by circumstantial evidence because rarely do you have direct evidence that it's racially motivated."
So we can verify, clear evidence of bias as the motivation is needed in order to meet the standard for hate crimes in New York.
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