Celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act

Courtesy of U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner of the Eastern District of California

The enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in October 2009 marked a critical step forward in our battle against bias-motivated violence.  The act expanded the jurisdictional reach of federal investigators and prosecutors, provided resources to local authorities to assist them in the prosecution of hate crimes and, for the first time in federal law, established protections for persons targeted for violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.  The Department of Justice has made vigorous use of the law, convicting 49 defendants since early 2010 for a variety of violent acts motivated by bias.  In the Eastern District of California, for example, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division recently concluded the prosecution of three white supremacists for an unprovoked attack on a white man and his African-American friend at a gas station in Yuba City, California.  Those three defendants are now serving significant federal prison terms.   

Combating hate crimes has been a priority of this administration.  Just last November, shortly after the fifth anniversary of the enactment of the Shepard Byrd Act, Attorney General Holder announced that the department would sponsor a series of pilot training programs around the country to commemorate the anniversary of the law, raise awareness with the public and with local jurisdictions about the importance of reporting hate crimes, build trust between law enforcement and impacted communities and educate our state and local law enforcement partners about federal hate crimes including the Shepard Byrd Act.  On April 2, the first of those pilot programs was held in Sacramento.

In the morning, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Civil Rights Division and the FBI provided a half-day training program for over 60 local law enforcement officers and investigators.  I opened the program together with Special Agent in Charge Monica Miller of the FBI Sacramento Field Office.  Substantive instruction was provided by an Assistant U.S. Attorney, an FBI Supervisory Special Agent, and Chiraag Bains—Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  The most riveting part of the program, however, was the participation of Judy and Dennis Shepard, parents of Matthew Shepard, whose brutal murder in a hate crime in Wyoming in 1998 shocked the nation, and whose name is enshrined in the statute.

Since the tragic death of their son, Judy and Dennis, through the Matthew Shepard Foundation, have been tireless advocates for equality and tolerance.  Later in the day, they were the centerpiece of a community forum at California State University Sacramento, which brought together over 100 members of the community—people of all colors and ethnicities, gay and straight, Jewish and Muslim, elected officials students, and members of the media.  The forum addressed the Shepard-Byrd Act, the investigation of hate crimes, reporting, police-community relations and other issues.  Judy and Dennis speak softly but eloquently, with courage and conviction.  They both made passionate appeals for community members to engage with and educate members of law enforcement as well as to report hate crimes.  The event concluded with a standing ovation for our visitors from Wyoming.

While recent years have been a period of tremendous change for issues relating to LGBT equality, much work still needs to be done.  Too many instances of hate-motivated violence still occur and too many of those instances still go unreported.  It is my hope that regional events like the one recently held in Sacramento—soon to be replicated in Biloxi, Mississippi; Kansas City, Kansas; Salem, Oregon; and Miami, Florida—will help address those gaps.