TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Senate unanimously agreed Wednesday to make lynching a federal hate crime.
Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Tim Scott introduced the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act earlier this year.
It makes lynching a hate crime punishable by up to life in prison.
Florida State University Professor Davis Houck said the state has largely failed to punish lynchers, in part because white people knew not to testify and black people feared they could be next.
Lawmakers have been trying for over a century to make lynching a federal offence.
"The Senate for the longest time refused to pass this bill," said Houck. "The first bill was in the early 20th century and there was always a small group of southerns who used the Senate filibuster rule basically to disallow the lynching legislation, so this is a really big deal in part because maybe it's an opportunity to do some reconciliation work."
Houck said white people used lynching in the deep south during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to terrorize black communities and keep them in line.
Houck said people from lower-class farmers to doctors, lawyers and businessmen were involved.
