From the Associated Press:

The Senate on Thursday approved the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes law since Congress responded four decades ago to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The measure Thursday would extend the federal protections of the 1968 hate crimes law to people who were physically attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

“This bill simply recognizes that there is a difference between assaulting someone to steal his money, or doing so because he is gay, or disabled, or Latino or Muslim,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

The hate crimes measure was attached to a defense spending bill. While the Obama administration has supported the hate crimes measure, the president has pledged to veto the defense bill if it includes more money for an F-22 fighter program.

Seattle police say Hannah Geiger was the victim of a hate crime

From the Seattle Times, KOMO-TV:

Crowds rallied in Seattle to celebrate the life of Hannah Geiger, a 19-year-old Special Olympics athlete, two weeks after she was beaten unconscious near her home by men who accosted her because of her race and disability. No arrests have been made.

… And the crowd shouted: “Hannah!”

For the first time since she was thrust into the local spotlight after surviving what police say was a violent hate crime, Geiger’s game face cracked into an embarrassed, but resolute, smile.

Related posts here.

From the Associated Press/CBS News:

Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that recent killings demonstrate the need for a tougher U.S. hate crimes law.

Holder said recent attacks that killed a soldier, an abortion provider and a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum were examples of “violence masquerading as political activism.”

In order to stop that violence, he said, Congress should past an updated version of hate crimes legislation, in order to more effectively prosecute those who commit violent attacks based on gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

Related posts here.

(AP photo from CBS News)

From the [Minneapolis-St. Paul] Star-Tribune, [St. Paul] Pioneer Press, KSTP-TV:

A former Minnesota National Guardsman, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the kidnapping and torture of a man with intellectual disabilities.

John Maniglia, 19, offered a written apology and plea for forgiveness in court to victim Justin Hamilton, who was 24 at the time of the assault. Maniglia had pleaded guilty to one count each of kidnapping, third-degree assault and theft as part of a plea agreement, and seven other charges against him were dropped.

Hamilton, who believed his attackers were his friends, went with them to a rural area where they tied him up and punched, kicked, hit and burned him over two days, according to court documents. Three more suspects await trial, and another has pleaded guilty to various charges.

Earlier post here.

(Photos from KSTP-TV)

From the AP/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tennesseean:

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports a dramatic rise in hate crimes in the state last year. Crimes against people with disabilities rose 88 percent to 42 total offenses, as  the total number of hate crimes in the state rose 38 percent to 515 in 2008.

Most of the hate crimes against people with disabilities involved theft, assault and burglaries. Experts said the increase could be attributed to the poor economy.

“When people are feeling desperate and pressured in times like these … you’re going to try to find the most vulnerable person to victimize,” said Carol Westlake, executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition.

… “I think we sort of overall are seeing, particularly in Tennessee, a little bit of a general backlash against people with disabilities,” Westlake said. “I think that has to do with state budget crisis and money being tight everywhere.

“There’s this underlying message that too often people with disabilities aren’t as valued because there’s a perception they’re not contributing to society and the economics of the state,” making victimization easier, she said.

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune:

In interviews, Carolyn Hamilton says her son Justin Hamilton, 24, who has developmental disabilities, feels terrified after being tortured and savagely beaten for two nights last week. She says he wakes up screaming and begs his father to go with him everywhere, even to the bathroom.

Carolyn Hamilton said her son was dragged behind a vehicle, tied to a tree and repeatedly burned with a cigarette lighter.

“They threatened to set him on fire. They talked among themselves about him being evidence,” she said.

“There are people who prey on the mentally ill, the weak of society,” she said.

Authorities say Justin Hamilton was lured from his Lakeville home Oct. 10 by a former high school classmate and a 16-year-old Lakeville girl he referred to as his “sister.” Five people have been charged in the attacks.

See also:

Too quick to trust those who pretend to care – Minneapolis Star Tribune. Experts say people with fetal alcohol syndrome can be easy targets

See earlier posts here and here.

From the [St. Paul, MN] Pioneer Press:

Authorities in Minnesota say they have filed a series of new felony charges against three men accused in the torture and beating of Justin Hamilton, a man with intellectual disabilities. Included among them is the charge of “assault motivated by bias.”

The two men accused of orchestrating the attack are members of the Minnesota Army National Guard, and the third passed criminal background checks to work with adults with developmental disabilities.

“We’re alleging that (the victim) was assaulted because of his disability,” said a county attorney. A lesser assault charge was dropped in the case of a fourth suspect because he also has an intellectual disability.

The crime has alarmed advocates for the disabled and renewed calls in some corners for greater state oversight of human service programs.

… In 2007, a study by the Minnesota Department of Health determined that people with disabilities are four to 10 times more likely to be victims of violence, abuse or neglect than other people …

(Photo of suspects  Jonathon Michael Diepold, 21; and John Maxwell Maniglia, 19, from St. Paul Pioneer Press)

Earlier post here.