Remember John Robert McGraham? He was the homeless man that was burned to death in Los Angeles. We posted information about this on our blog last year, you can read it by clicking here. LAPD arrested thirty-year-old Benjamin Mathew Martin. “Yeah, we got the right man,” stated Detective Michael Whelan. A $75,000 cash reward was offered for information leading to the apprehension of the murderer of John Robert McGraham, but no one claimed it. Some tips were offered, but after extensive foot work, an arrest was made. Martin is currently being held without bond.

In 2007 Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced the Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act (H.R. 2216) and the Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Enforcement Act (H.R. 2217). The following is taken directly from the National Coalition for the Homeless at www.nationalhomeless.org –

Hate crime and violence against people experiencing homelessness has become widespread. In 2006 alone, the number of attacks against homeless people rose by 65 percent over the prior year.
Between 1999 and 2007, over 770 violent acts against homeless individuals were documented by advocacy organizations (despite the absence of uniform law enforcement reporting). These attacks range from beatings with golf clubs to the setting a man on fire while sleeping. Victims have included men and women, veterans, children as young as four, youth, and elders.

Between 1999 and 2007, more fatal attacks have been documented against homeless individuals than in all legally recognized hate crime categories combined. There were 85 homicides classified as legally-defined hate crimes. Over that same period there were 217 deaths as a result of violent acts directed at homeless individuals. Current hate crimes laws were passed before the phenomenon of homeless-victim hate crimes was well-documented. Now it is time to improve the tracking and enforcement systems already in place. Homeless status should be added to hate crimes reporting and enforcement statutes so that law enforcement agencies would uniformly and consistently report hate crimes against homeless people and so that preventive and corrective actions could be taken accordingly.

So many crimes against the homeless are committed that they do not always receive national press coverage. “There are enough of them that they don’t always draw national attention,” stated Michael Stoops, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, referring to crime against the homeless. He has worked hard with congressional leaders to pass a national hate crime bill. Even though this bill has been “pushed back,” he has seen Washington, DC, and Maryland add homeless protection to their hate crime laws.

Visit the National Coalition for the Homeless website at www.nationalhomeless.org to sign a petition to President Obama to end homelessness for all, not just veterans.

2.2.10
DJ McCoy