A woman lies about a respectable family man raping her....
Is there any more heinous of a hate crime?
That is a HATE CRIME!
This story exemplifies why “thou shalt not bear false witness” is one of the 10 commandments. In this life a person’s character and reputation is really all they have. Material wealth is meaningless and cannot buy your character and reputation back, nor can it defend against lies and slander. Character and reputation lives on even after the person passes, and can taint generations of your descendants. To destroy a person’s character is in a sense an attempt to kill their soul, and of course damages their reputation and ability to work and go along in the community. 1000 good deeds is often not enough to repair a damaged reputation, and people being they way they are will talk about and remember you for the thing that is most audacious. It is important to punish people who bear false witness and more harshly than we tend to do for these reasons.