DESECRATING A BIBLE IS NOT A HATE CRIME. At least that is the conclusion you get from The Washington Times:

Asked whether someone was ever charged with a hate crime over the Bible, [Stanislav Shmulevich's attorney] Mr. Thorpe said "that would take a paralegal a couple of days to research, but this whole situation is fraught with this kind of question."

A search of Lexis/Nexis did not disclose any hate-crime prosecutions for destroying a Bible.

Meanwhile, Allahpundit--who does not find the Lexis/Nexis search conclusive--has a post delving deeper into the legal aspects, including Eugene Volokh’s take on New York’s hate-crime statute. Allahpundit also writes that the idea to charge the hate crime came from the police and not from Pace University--and he explains why that is a good thing.

Technorati Tag: Stanislav Shmulevich.