Published: 4th Apr, 2022
Context
United States President Joe Biden has signed into law the first federal legislation that makes lynching a federal hate crime in the country after civil rights groups pushed for such a measure for more than a century.
Background
- Assent to Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Bill was given by President of US Joe Biden.
- This law makes lynching a federal hate crime.
- The passing of this Act is significant as the US continues to be rocked by ‘black rights matter’ movement following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer.
Analysis
What is the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Bill?
- It makes lynching a federal crime punishable by imprisonment of up to 30 years.
The legislation is named after 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered in a racist attack in Mississippi in 1955.
- This law expressly terms lynching to be a hate crime.
- The abovementioned law was unambitiously passed by the US lawmakers with only 3 Republican legislators opposing it.
- Under this law, an action can be prosecuted as a lynching when a person conspires to commit a hate crime that results in death or serious injury.
- It has to be noted that in the legislative history of United States, the passing of an Anti-Lynching Bill was attempted about 200 times.
In 1900, the first anti-lynching Bill was introduced by George Henry White, who was then the only black man in the Congress.
Lynching in India:
- In recent years India has also faced the problem of mob lynching.
- Most common reason for lynching in India have arisen due to cow vigilantism.
- People getting lynched in most cases are accused of smuggling cattle for slaughtering them.
- Rumors regarding crimes or wrong committed by a person may also become the reason for him being lynched by the mob.
- It has been found that in most cases of lynching, the incident was caused due to spread of rumors through social media.
- People belonging to minority community have mostly been the victims of lynching in India.
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Lynching laws in India
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