Senate Passes Legislation to make Lynching a Federal Crime

the senate on wednesday december 19 passed a bill to make lynching a federal crime. the landmark bill would add a section on lynching to the part of the u.s. code of law dealing with crimes related to civil rights. the section on lynching would be added right after the section on hate crimes.

the justice for victims of lynching act of 2018 was proposed in june by three black senators: cory booker (d-nj), kamala harris (d-calif) and tim scott (r-sc). the bill now goes to the house of representatives. 

the bill says if two or more people are convicted of killing someone because of their "actual or perceived race, color or religion, or national origin," they can be sentenced to up to life in prison. if the lynching victim experiences "bodily harm," the perpetrators face no less than ten years in prison.  

"this is an historic piece of legislation that would criminalize lynching, attempts to lynch and conspiracy to lynch for the first time in america's history. we finally have a chance to speak the truth about our past and make clear that these hateful acts should never happen again without serious, severe and swift consequence and accountability," said harris.

almost 200 bills were introduced in congress during the first half of the 20th century in an effort to end lynching. historically, laws allowing federal prosecution of lynchers were stalled by southern democrats who threatened filibusters in order to block anti-lynching bills.

over 4,700 people were lynched in america from 1882 to 1968, according to researchers out of tuskegee university. almost 75% of the people lynched were black. a 2015 report by the equal justice initiative said nearly 4,000 blacks were lynched in the american south between the end of the civil war and world war two.

in 2005, the senate passed a resolution to apologize to victims of lynching, and their descendants, for its failure to enact anti-lynching legislation. similarly, in april, the country's first memorial dedicated to the victims of lynching opened in alabama.

harris said, "these crimes should have been prosecuted, there were victims who should have received justice but did not. 99% of all perpetrators of lynching escaped punishment by state or local officials. with this bill, we are finally able to change that and correct a burden on our history as a country."