Yep, because it is extremely effective on their base. Any reason they can discount a person as a bad one, or as a “criminal,” makes them a sub-human animal whose rights and worth can be completely disregarded.

I can hear some of my conservative family now. “Oh he got killed? WELL I GUESS HE SHOULDN’T HAVE CHOSEN TO STEAL/TAKE DRUGS/BE BLACK/BE A CRIMINAL HUH?!?”