re: I don't understand hate crime - what does that add to crime?

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I don't understand hate crime - what does that add to crime?

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Two classes of harm arise from crime: harm to the victim and harm to society. The latter harm motivates the additional punishment.

If you kill someone, the harm to the victim is the same regardless of the motivation of the assailant. But the harm to society is arguably greater for a crime motivated by a factor which would likely lead to recurrences.

That is the theory, anyway.