Even if police and prosecutors believe racism motivated a crime, they must often settle for a lesser charge for lack of proof. Society attaches more stigma to a hate crime, but as felonies go, malicious harassment ranks relatively low. In Washington, a malicious-harassment charge cannot augment another charge. A racist thug, for example, can be charged with multiple crimes stemming from the same incident, but he cannot be sentenced for, say, both assault and malicious harassment. Of the three charges, first-degree robbery carries the stiffest sentence.
Some states allow sentences to be augmented.
In New Jersey, for example, a prison sentence for assault can be lengthened if it can be proved that racial hatred motivated the attack. Varied laws, perceptions Forty states and the federal government have versions of hate-crime laws, but there is little uniformity. It makes for a helter-skelter picture and does not encourage easy dialogue on a touchy, complex issue. Now mix in public perceptions. Two high-profile cases, the 1998 murders of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming and James Byrd in Texas, are cited as prime examples of brutal hate crimes.