Some Prosecutors Are Using Hate Crime Law To Prosecute Non-Violent Crimes Against The Elderly
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Although this post is a little off the topic usually addressed in this blog, I found an an interesting article by Anne Barnard in yesterday's New York Times. The article reported on the practice of Queens, New York, prosecutors using New York's "hate crime" law to prosecute those who target the elderly. According to Ms. Barnard, Queens' prosecutors are using the hate crime law against those "singling out elderly victims for nonviolent crimes like mortgage fraud, because they believed older people would be easy to deceive and might have substantial savings or home equity." The use of New York's hate crime law results in stiffer sentences for those convicted of taking advantage of the elderly precisely because they are elderly. This is, indeed, a novel approach.
Will such prosecutions work in Idaho? Likely not because, unlike the New York statute, Idaho's "hate crime" or, more properly, "malicious harassment" statute does not include the elderly, in its definition of a class of people under its protection. The New York statute includes "age" and "disability" in its definition of protected groups. In Idaho, the statute does not. Perhaps this apparent oversight can be addressed by the legislature.
If you feel strongly that Idaho's "malicious harassment" or "hate crime" law should include the elderly under its umbrella of protection, contact your state legislator today.
