U.S. Sentencing Commission Incorporates New Hate Crimes Law Into Sentencing Guidelines

The U.S. Sentencing Commission announced on Monday that it has voted to send to Congress for promulgation several amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines. One portion of the amendments adds language to incorporate the new provisions of the recently enacted Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (See prior posting.) The Sentencing Commission's proposal broadens the Sentencing Guideline for offenses involving individual rights to include a new offense added by the hate crime law: willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of the person’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The amendment also expands the definition of a hate crime in the penalty enhancement section to now include victims who were targeted because of their gender identity. The proposed changes (full text) were published in the Federal Register last month. Today's National Law Journal reports on the amendments.