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A hate crime can take years to prosecute without bringing justice to the victim; in 2023 alone, California law enforcement reported a total of 1,970 hate crimes, but only five went to trial, according to data from the California Attorney General's Office.
In 2021, as the state experienced an alarming uptick in hate violence, only one case went to trial. People of African descent are overwhelmingly the targets of such crimes, while Jewish, Muslim and LGBTQ+ people are also experiencing a rise in bias-motivated attacks.
Hate crimes are notoriously difficult to prove, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, echoing comments from his counterparts across the country. Despite the discouraging data, experts said during a briefing by the California Attorney General, Ethnic Media Services, that it is important to report hate crimes, even if conviction rates are low.
Monthanus Ratanapakdee, whose father was killed in what appeared to be a hate crime, said it is very difficult to classify this case as one, because there is not enough evidence to qualify it and even if it is obvious, prosecutors are asking for more clear evidence.
The family is demanding justice for what happened and hopes it will be judged as a hate crime. Ratanapakdee said it is important to fight for justice and provide security to vulnerable communities so that this act does not happen again.
Kunni, a waitress who was pepper-sprayed while her attackers shouted "go back to your country," spoke about her case and how difficult it has been to move on with her life after what happened.
She explained that when the police arrived, a report was filed, witnesses were asked for and the video they had was provided, however, nothing was sufficient and the police said it was not a hate crime. It was concluded that the attack was due to not providing them with attention at the pool table and that the person who attacked her with pepper spray was not charged with any crime.
"I have had to go to the psychologist every Wednesday to deal with my anxiety and I still feel it every time I walk down the street. I don't feel safe and I'm scared. I have post-traumatic stress disorder," said Kunni, who said that "after this attack, nothing is the same."
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West said that in hate crime cases, there are always at least two people on the case who are looking out for the matter and these issues are handled very delicately.
He also deeply regretted the feelings of the victims, as they are inflicted with damage that is impossible to repair.
West spoke of the challenges faced when working on suspected hate cases, as it must be determined that these were acts of hate rather than circumstances; to be certain, one must try to prove how the person who attacked was thinking in order to confirm their true intentions.
"Santa Clara County reported that last year it had 32 cases of hate crimes and of those 20 were considered as such, but none have gone to trial, so the statistics leave a large bias between the numbers," he stressed.
Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said there are some challenges facing hate crime cases that prevent resolution, such as police not considering certain acts as hate.
Many cases are not considered hate crimes because it is not clear whether the crime was done with the intention of harming the community in a circumstantial manner or as an opportunity to gain some benefit, so in order to have more clarity, the legal statutes must be expanded.
In this regard, Kulkarni called on the population to put an end to hatred. There are 173 thousand associations that work to protect various vulnerable communities, because it is important to fight to resolve cases of hatred, but it is more important to prevent them and heal communities to avoid more acts of this kind.
"We are one of the most diverse countries, we are the fifth largest economy in the world and we must stop the hate that hurts marginalized communities and that is why we need all the comprehensive approaches and support available," she concluded.
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