Stripped-down hate crimes bill passes Senate

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas State Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 622 on Wednesday by a 227 vote, sending a slimmeddown version of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s long-awaited hate crimes legislation to the State House of Representatives for its consideration.

SB 622, sponsored by State Sen. and Senate President Pro Tempore Jimmy Hickey and cosponsored by State Rep. and Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd, is something of a compromise between the governor and other republicans in the State Legislature on the hate crimes bill the governor marked as one of his legislative priorities during his State of the State Address to members of the State Legislature in January.

Notable for its lack of mention of the term “hate crime,” no sentence enhancements for defendants found guilty of committing a violent crime targeted against a protected group and the omission of a specific list of protected groups included in the bill’s language, SB 622 requires defendants found guilty of committing a violent crime against a victim who was targeted due to their membership or association with an “identifiable group or class who share mental, physical, biological, cultural, political or religious beliefs or characteristics” to serve at least 80 percent of their prison sentence before being allowed to be considered for release.

At Monday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on SB 622, Hickey defended the bill and declined to characterize it as a hate crimes bill, but said that the bill served the overall purpose of the governor’s proposed hate crimes legislation: to protect all Arkansans who are members of groups at-risk of being targeted for hate crimes.

A main topic of discussion on Monday centered on the protected groups included in SB 622. With the bill’s language undeniably vague on what groups qualify for protection, committee members asked Hickey about specific groups that would be protected under the bill’s “identifiable group or class” terminology.

State Sen. Jim Hendren, a critic of some of the bill’s contents, even proposed an amendment to add a list of protected groups into SB 622’s language, including transgender and LGBTQ+ individuals. Hickey, however, pushed back on Hendren’s amendment and cited the concerns of unnamed state legislators who specifically asked that the bill’s language not identify specifically protected groups.

With no support from Hickey and other committee members, Hendren’s amendment, which State Sen. Trent Garner described as “hostile” and thrown in at the “eleventh hour,” the amendment to add specifically protected groups failed in committee. At Wednesday’s vote, many of the same discussions regarding SB 622 were rehashed on the floor of the Senate. Proponents of Hickey’s legislation supported the bill’s efforts to protect all Arkansans and pushed back on the need for a specific list of protected groups.

Opponents of SB 622, however, many of whom were Democrats, spoke harshly on the bill.

“The proposed hate crimes bill went down in flames this morning,” State Sen.

Continued on Page 11 STATE NEWS (cont.)

Linda Chesterfield said, identifying the bill as a “placebo” which provided a dose of medicine that was “inefficient.”

State Sen. Joyce Elliott also spoke against SB 622 in a similar vein as Chesterfield.

“SB 622 covers up what the real issues are,” Elliott said, pleading with the Senate to include a list of protected groups in SB 622’s language.

Faulkner County State Sen.

Jason Rapert spoke immediately following Elliott and praised the “attempt” the bill made at adequately protecting all Arkansans under the U.S.

Constitution’s equal protections clause. Rapert also discussed his own personal experiences with threats of violence he received and asked the Senate chamber if what he experienced deserved to be considered as “hate.”

For his part, the governor signaled his support for SB 622 despite its slimmer nature than what he introduced in January. In a statement, the governor said the bill was a step forward the state desperately needed.

“I am very appreciative of the work of key legislative leaders in crafting a new bill that makes it clear that Arkansas will increase the prison time for anyone targeting another for a violent crime because of their race or other characteristic,” the governor said. “While this is not the bill that I had envisioned at the beginning of the session, it is a significant

step forward in giving

assurance that we are a state that values the diversity of our country. I particularly am grateful for the work of the Speaker and Pro Tempore who have come together to provide a path to get this important bill filed and hopefully passed.”

Despite opposition from both sides of the aisle, namely Democrats who felt the bill fell short of the governor’s ambitions and republicans who had concerns about the bill’s value and its ability to protect the rights of all Arkansans, SB 622 passed on Wednesday with five senators voting present. The bill now heads to the State House for its hearings and ultimate consideration.

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JONESBORO — Police are still looking for a suspect in the March 31 murder of a southwest Jonesboro man.

Johnathan Felipe, 21, was found shot to death at his residence in the 700 block of West Strawn Avenue, according to previous Sun reporting. As of Wednesday, the Jonesboro Police Department has not disclosed the nature of Felipe’s fatal injuries or the type of firearm used.

In a redacted incident report, the department noted that the victim was shot under “unknown circumstances.” It suggests that Felipe’s gray 2006 Chrysler 300 and a female resident’s silver 2006 Nissan Altima were involved in the fatal shooting, but no damages were reported.

While reviewing the latest report, JPD public information specialist Sally Smith said there’s no suspect information listed.

“No arrest has been made.

It’s still under investigation,” Smith told The Sun on Wednesday.

Craighead County Coroner Toby Emerson verified that Felipe’s body was sent to the Arkansas Crime Lab in Little Rock for forensic analysis. He said it’s typical for homicide cases, but he was unaware if it was returned to Jonesboro.

If apprehended, the unknown suspect faces a

Continued on Page 15 STATE NEWS (cont.)

charge of first-degree murder, a Class Y felony punishable by 10 to 40 years or life imprisonment in an Arkansas Department of Corrections facility.

The fatal shooting is the second home probed by JPD’s Criminal Investigation Division.

Deborah Lamb, 63, was allegedly murdered by her husband Jerry Lamb, 63, in their home in the 3200 block of Turtle Creek Road.

Jerry Lamb then killed himself, documents show.

Previous reporting indicates that JPD has an active investigation into the January 2020 murder of Donald Hubbard, 78.

Officers found him dead with several gunshot wounds during a welfare check in his home in the 1800 block of Shady Grove Road.

JPD and CrimeStoppers of Jonesboro are offering a $3,500 reward for information that leads to the suspect’s arrest in Hubbard’s murder.

Tips regarding either homicide can be submitted anonymously at 870-9355657, on the department’s website or Facebook page.

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LITTLE ROCK — Gov.

Asa Hutchinson stressed the importance of getting students and minorities vaccinated in his weekly briefing on the state’s coronavirus response on Tuesday at the State Capitol.

He said he wanted to “emphasize the importance of getting vaccinations out in our minority community which currently is behind as compared to their percentage of the population.”

While African-Americans make up around 15 percent of the state’s population, only 10 percent of vaccines administered in the state have been to African-Americans, he said.

“Well over 800,000 Arkansans partially or fully immunized,” the governor said. “Seventy-seven percent have gone to white Arkansans. It shows that we have to continue to work to overcome historic reservations and concerns about vaccination in the minority community.”

To that end, the Arkansas Department of Health’s Office of Health Equity has dispatched teams of health care professionals and volunteers into rural counties with low vaccination numbers to help educate the population and schedule vaccinations.

Hutchinson said it’s also important for the education community ages 16 and up to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

“Some eligible are still in high school. We really want to pilot this now while school is in session so we can prepare for the fall. In the fall, we hope to have FDA approval for use of the vaccine in children 12 and above so we will have a very comprehensive vaccine program available for students at that age,” Hutchinson said.

Secretary of Health Dr.

Jose Romero reminded people the importance of receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

“We’re starting to see increasing numbers of people who aren’t returning to receive their second dose.

It’s very important that you receive that to become fully immunized. Johnson and Johnson is currently the only single dose vaccine offered,” he said.

The state reported 163 news cases Tuesday.

Hospitalizations were up by 7 from the previous day for a total of 152.

“We’re hovering around the same numbers through the course of the week,” the governor said.

“COVID-19 is still in our communities.”

Five more Arkansans have died as a result of the virus bringing the state’s death toll to 5,653.