People viewed hate crime victims as more innocent than the nonhate crime victim and the hate crime perpetrators as more culpable than the nonhate crime perpetrator. However, consistent with previous research, women perceived all crime victims, hate crime or nonhate crime, as more innocent and all perpetrators, hate crime or nonhate crime, as more blameworthy than did men. Findings also indicate that in terms of participants’ perceptions of blame within the hate crime situations, the specific hate crime category was insignificant. There were no significant differences among the three hate crime conditions (sexual orientation, race, or religion) with regard to perceptions of blame concerning the victim and the perpetrator. The study emphasizes that hate crimes are unique types of crimes that provoke unique reactions in bystanders requiring continued analysis. The reactions of bystanders represent important factors in terms of the victim’s post-crime psychological adjustment. Preliminary evidence suggests that the perceptions of bystanders toward hate crime victims are more positive than their perceptions toward the victims of nonhate crimes. The purpose of this study was to investigate people’s perceptions of blame regarding hate crime perpetrators and victims using the person perception vignette method. The study consisted of 403 undergraduate students ranging in age from 17 to 57 years. Figures, appendix, references