Bipolar disorder, which used to be called manic depressive illness or manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by wide mood swings from high (manic) to low (depressed). Periods of high or irritable mood are called manic episodes.
James Byrd, Jr. was not engaged in a federally-protected activity when he was lynched and killed. The Matthew Shepard Act expanded the 1969 Federal Hate Crime Law to cover these and other types of brutal murders.
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103â322), public law 104â208âsept. 30, 1996 110 stat. 3009â2 as amended, $48,000,000, to remain available until expended, which shall be derived from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.