Hate crimes are some of the most repulsive and shocking acts of violence. Statistics show that racially-based cases are the most common among bias-caused offenses (the FBI reports that more than 50% of all hate crimes committed have been motivated by the victim's race), with bias towards one's religious beliefs and sexual orientation following afterwards. Lawmakers have developed new legislations in order to make sure that justice prevails and such tragedies as in the cases of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. do not repeat. This books contains expedient information on hate crimes and the issues associated with them.