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Why Mitchell V Wisconsin Sucked

On June 11, 1993, the United State Supreme Court upheld Wisconsin¹s penalty enhancement law, which imposes harsher sentences on criminals who ³intentionally select the person against whom the crime...is committed..because of the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry of that person.² Chief Justice Rehnquist deliverd the opinion of the unanimous Court. This paper argues against the decision, and will attempt to prove the unconstitutionality of such penalty enhancement laws.

On the evening of October 7, 1989, Mitchell and a group of young black men attacked and severely beat a lone white boy. The group had just finished watching the film ³Mississippi Burning², in which a young black boy was, while praying, beaten by a white man. After the film, the group moved outside and Mitchell asked if they felt ³hyped up to move on some white people². When the white boy approached Mitchell said, ³You all want to fuck somebody up? There goes a white boy, Go get him.² The boy was left unconscious, and remained in a coma for four days. Mitchell was convicted of aggravated battery, which carries a two year maximum sentence. The Wisconsin jury, however, found that because Mitchell selected his victim based on race, the penalty enhancement law allowed Mitchell to be sentenced to up to seven years. The jury sentenced Mitchell to four years, twice the maximum for the crime he committed without the penalty enhancement law.

The U.S. Supreme Court¹s ruling was faulty, and defied a number of precedents. The Wisconsin law is unconstitutional, and is essentially unenforceable. This paper primarily focuses on the constitutional arguments against Chief Justice Rehnquist¹s decision and the statute itself, but will also consider the practical implications of the Wisconsin law, as well as a similar law passed under the new federal crime bill (Cacas, 32). The Wisconsin law and the new federal law are based on a model created...

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