The intent behind making a "hate crime" a harsher punishment is noble in theory, however, in practice it's an attempt to, in essence, force the ideal that prejudicial motivation behind a crime is somehow worse than someone who does it for other reasons.

Brillliantly put, Aum. I completely agree. Besides, aren't Judges allowed to adjust the sentence of a criminal as they see fit? (Give them the minimum if they think this person is a one timer, as opposed to slapping them with a maximum sentence if they're a repeat?) It seems to me that this is where the justice for a truly heinous crime comes from.