An Increase in Hate

By PETER RUGG

Earlier this month, Kansas City jurors twice declined to punish people with a death sentence for a racially motivated crime. The most recent case being when a judge sentenced 22-year-old Steve Sandstrom to life in prison for the 2005 murder of William McCay.

The cases could be a sign of a trend: A newly released report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs pegged Kansas City with a near-doubling of hate crimes from 2006 to 2007.