A 2009 hate crimes law meant to make federal prosecutions easier has resulted in relatively few convictions nationwide. An Associated Press analysis using data gathered by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University show that 47 people nationwide have been prosecuted using the law, with 37 convictions.
Another 300 people were referred for prosecution, but hate crimes charges were never filed. In at least half those cases, there wasn't enough evidence or prosecutors couldn't prove intent, a key threshold.
Shown here are the total number of cases that law enforcement agencies presented to federal prosecutors in each state, followed by the number of convictions.
Alabama: 13, 1
Alaska: 1, 0
Arizona: 12, 0
Arkansas: 9, 2
California: 34, 3
Delaware: 1, 0
District of Columbia: 1, 0
Florida: 5, 0
Georgia: 10, 1
Idaho: 14, 0
Illinois: 4, 0
Indiana: 4, 0
Iowa: 5, 1
Kansas: 3, 0
Kentucky: 11, 4
Louisiana: 6, 1
Maine: 3, 0
Massachusetts: 14, 0
Michigan: 23, 1
Minnesota: 2, 1
Mississippi: 20, 4
Missouri: 8, 0
Nebraska: 6, 0
Nevada: 3, 0
New Hampshire: 1, 0
New Jersey: 1, 0
New Mexico: 10, 3
New York: 6, 1
North Carolina: 11, 0
Ohio: 12, 0
Oklahoma: 7, 1
Oregon: 8, 1
Pennsylvania: 7, 0
Rhode Island: 1, 0
South Carolina: 10, 1
South Dakota: 3, 0
Tennessee: 8, 3
Texas: 17, 6
Utah: 9, 0
Virginia: 7, 0
Washington: 7, 2
West Virginia: 9, 0
Wisconsin: 1, 0
___
No cases were presented in Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Vermont and Wyoming.
___
Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
