Some say hate crime law needs changing

 The Waterloo Police Department and the Black Hawk County Attorney's Office soon came under scrutiny for not labeling the killing a hate crime after witnesses said the assailants called Marcellus a derogatory name relating to sexual orientation as they beat the life out of him.

But the refusal of police and prosecutors to do so is par for the course in Iowa where only a handful of criminal incidents each year are ever designated as hate crimes.

Now, some lawmakers and advocacy groups say it's time to revisit, if not change, the hate crimes statute.