CT strengthens its hate crime laws. But one victim thinks the changes go too far
Interfaith leaders joined Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday for a bill signing ceremony for Senate Bill 90. It consolidates Connecticut's "scattered" hate crime laws, but one prominent victims fears the new law will be used against the people it's designed the protect.
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Connecticut’s hate crime laws are getting a long-awaited overhaul, thanks to a new bill that Gov. Ned Lamont just signed.
Police, state’s attorneys and religious groups said the streamlined rules will make it easier to prosecute hate crimes – and for victims to understand their rights.
But one prominent victim worries that the new law could target the very people it’s designed to protect.
“I FACE THAT HATE EVERY SINGLE DAY”
Hate crimes are on the rise.
In 2022, Connecticut State Police investigated 105 of them. Two years later, that number jumped to 127.
“Being the first Sikh mayor in New England, of course make my community very proud,” said Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh. “But I face that hate every single day.”
Connecticut State Police created a new Hate Crimes Investigative Unit in 2023.
“Many states focus primarily on investigating hate crimes after they occur,” said Ronnell Higgins, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. “In Connecticut, we are investing in prevention.”
But prosecuting those cases is difficult because Connecticut’s hate crime laws are scattered across multiple sections of statute.
“Advocates and victims must currently navigate a maze of statutes across several chapters to understand their rights,” said Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin. “This act, for the first time in Connecticut history, says what these acts are. They are hate crimes.”
STREAMLINED LAWS
Senate Bill 90 consolidates Connecticut’s “scattered” hate crimes laws under one statute. On Monday, Lamont held a bill signing ceremony in front of interfaith leaders at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford.
Jewish, Muslim and Christian groups all supported the law.
“A hate crime is not just a crime against an individual,” Lamont said. “A hate crime is a crime against a community.”
The Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council recommended the change, but it struggled to win passage in the General Assembly until the governor pushed for it this year. The legislation passed unanimously in the state Senate, and by a 139-8 margin in the Connecticut House of Representatives.
The state attorney general, who handles civil litigation in Connecticut. will also have more authority to investigate hate crimes.
“Connecticut’s hate crime statutes are outdated and inadequate,” Attorney General William Tong said.
The new law takes effect on Oct. 1.
VICTIM RAISES CONCERNS
Not everyone is happy with the law – including a prominent hate crime victim.
State Rep. Maryam Khan (D-Windsor) made national headlines when a man attacked her outside a Muslim prayer service. Despite that, Khan urged Lamont to veto the new law, arguing in an op-ed that it “risks overcriminalization, particularly of some of the communities it was aimed to protect.”
Khan worries that prosecutors no longer have to prove “malicious” intent.
“I think Black and Brown communities are going to be charged significantly higher, and I think Muslim communities will absolutely experience it as well,” she said. “There’s many things in there that people would not, on the surface, consider a hate crime … My concern is that it would be used by an overzealous prosecutor to add charges that should not be there.”
Defense attorneys raised similar concerns.
“The deletion of [“maliciously”] will make it easier for the state to prosecute such cases by reducing and diluting the state’s burden of proof in offenses that carry with them serious consequences if convicted,” Chief Public Defender Deborah Del Prete Sullivan told lawmakers.
Griffin insisted that the new law actually leaves less room for prosecutorial abuse.
“’Malicious’ was never defined by our statutes,” he told reporters. “Such ambiguity in the law unnecessarily complicates investigations, delays charging decisions and places hurdles and burdens in front of prosecutors.”
Even more changes could be coming next year.
The law requires the state Sentencing Commission to review hate crime penalties – and potentially add more nuance to them. The panel will issue a report by the end of this year.
REPORT HATE CRIMES
You can report a possible hate crime HERE. You can also call 911 or email hate.crimes@ct.gov.
Tips can also be submitted to the FBI HERE or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
