A Georgia man convicted of throwing scalding water on a sleeping same-sex couple told one of them to “get out of my house with all that gay,” a victim testified, yet he couldn’t be charged with a hate crime because the state has no such law.
Victim Anthony Gooden said in a recent interview that he still can’t use his left arm, which was severely burned in the 2016 attack, and wears a brace. He can’t tie his shoelaces or work. Martin Blackwell was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime.
“Forty years is not enough to have your skin turn different shades of colors and peel off,” said Fani Willis, who prosecuted the case and said she would have considered using a hate crimes charge. “Those young boys were burned because of their sexuality. We have to acknowledge that it was a hateful reason.”
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