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Utah Senate approves enhanced penalties for bias-motivated crimes after heated floor debate
Summary
After extended floor debate and a failed late amendment to add creed and political belief, the Utah Senate advanced fourth substitute Senate Bill 103, approving penalty enhancements for certain bias-motivated offenses; sponsor Senator Thatcher said the measure targets conduct, not thought.
Senator Thatcher moved and the Utah Senate voted to advance fourth substitute Senate Bill 103, a penalty-enhancement measure for bias-motivated offenses, after an extended floor debate and a division vote that defeated a late amendment to add 'creed' and 'political belief.' The presiding officer announced the bill had achieved the required affirmative votes and ordered it be read for a third time.
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Thatcher, framed the measure as the culmination of many years of work with criminal-justice stakeholders, saying the proposal was backed by the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Sentencing Commission, prosecutors, chiefs of police and sheriffs. Thatcher repeatedly emphasized the statute targets sentencing for conduct and not…
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