Are you picking up what they're putting down?

So I have been sorta following the case of the black woman who was held captive, tortured, and sexually assaulted by a bunch of psychotic hillbillies in West Virginia. I don't need to tell anyone that this is a horrorible crime nor that the perpetrators deserve very long prison sentences for the trauma they have caused this woman. However, these church leaders bitching about the lack of hate-crime charges just makes me grab my head in pain. Is playing up the racial aspects of this crime so important that they would rather these nutjobs be convicted as racists (with less prison time attached) in lieu of kidnapping, torturing rapists (he-loooo, possible LIFE sentence)? We all know racism and prejudice exist. We all know that occasionally crimes committed against "minorities" are treated less seriously than those committed against those in the "majority". But there comes a time to pick your battles.