Proposals for new laws on hate crime

Sir, – Proposals for new laws on hate crime are misguided ("Calls for reform of hate crime laws after anti-Roma protests", October 28th).

Criminalising motivation, as it has been described, will have no effect apart from, perhaps, allowing the proponents of this legislation to feel good about themselves. How can it be proved that a criminal who displayed evidence of prejudice when committing a crime was actually offending because of the same prejudice?

Also, such legislation would aim to create hierarchies of victims, thus offending against the principle of “equality before the law”, one of the basic principles of liberalism. – Yours, etc,

BRIAN KITT,

Kilmainham, Dublin 8.