Shootings could be first test of new hate crimes law
The murder case against a white man charged with shooting and killing six women of Asian descent and two other people at Atlanta-area massage businesses this week could become the first big test for Georgia’s new hate crimes law.
Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that the attacks Tuesday at two spas in Atlanta and another massage business near suburban Woodstock were not racially motivated and claimed to have a sex addiction. Authorities said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation but were still investigating his motive.
Because most of the victims were women of Asian descent, there’s skepticism of that explanation and public clamoring for hate crime charges, especially among the Asian American community, which has faced rising numbers of attacks since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
But, like many states, the Georgia law enacted last summer does not provide for a standalone hate crime, instead allowing an additional penalty when a person is convicted of another crime.
“It’s not something you get arrested for. It’s a sentence enhancer,” said Pete Skandalakis, a former prosecutor and executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia.
The law says an additional penalty can be applied for certain crimes if they are motivated by a victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or mental or physical disability. Even before the law passed amid the national reckoning over racial injustice, the pandemic had largely paused court cases, so Skandalakis said he doesn’t believe the rule has been used yet.
A hate crime charge can be included in an indictment or added at some point before trial. If a jury convicts the defendant of the underlying crime, prosecutors can present evidence for a hate crime sentencing enhancement. Defense attorneys can present their own evidence,. If jurors find it’s a hate crime, there is an enhancement of at least two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 for a felony.