Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Monday, September 29, 2008
(TERRE HAUTE) - The head of the Terre Haute Human Relations Commission says a recent rash of hate crimes in the Southwest Indiana community highlights the need for special legislation.
Indiana is one of only five states in the country without some form of hate crimes law -- which provides enhanced sentencing for people who are convicted of committing them.
Terre Haute Human Relations Commission Executive Director Jeff Lorick wants victims to step forward, so the city can document the crimes and lobby for hate crime laws in Indiana.
The Terre Haute police department and the FBI are investigating the painting of a swastika on an interracial Terre Haute couple's shed as the latest racially-motivated incident. Lorick says the Nazi symbol has also appeared this past year on the city's first African American church and an Asian restaurant.
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