NCJ Number
177157
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: February 1999 Pages: 78-96
Date Published
1999
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Hate crimes against the Amish were examined by means of a social psychological analysis of eight offenders, with emphasis on neutralization techniques that offenders use after the offenses have been committed to justify their behavior, rationalize their behavior, or both.
Abstract
The analysis focused on claping, which is the term for harassment, intimidation, and vandalism perpetrated against Amish people. The study used a snowball sampling technique with confidential informants. Information was collected by means of detailed, qualitative, semistructured interviews that lasted 1 hour to 2.5 hours. The offenders provided information on how offenders used such linguistic accounts to separate the acts from the responsibility for the behavior. Results revealed that all the offenders had some form of regular contact with Amish people. Offenders tended to engage in claping for thrill-seeking motivations. The offenders tended to use denial of injury and denial of the victim more often than techniques such as denial of responsibility, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. Findings suggested the usefulness of further research on victimization processes targeted toward specific groups and research on the role of neutralizations in justifying hate crime behavior and reducing personal accountability. 28 references (Author abstract modified)