(updated) Man Gets 40 Years for Pouring Scalding Water on Gay Couple [View all]

[Eugene]

Last edited Wed Aug 24, 2016, 07:14 PM - Edit history (2)

Previous AP headlines at link:
• Defense: Boiled Water Attack on Gay Couple Was Not Hate
• Jury Convicts Georgia Man Who Threw Boiled Water on Gay Men

Source: Associated Press

Man Gets 40 Years for Pouring Scalding Water on Gay Couple

By KATE BRUMBACK, ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA — Aug 24, 2016, 7:58 PM ET

A judge sentenced a Georgia man to 40 years in prison Wednesday for throwing scalding water on a gay couple sleeping in an apartment, leaving them with severe burns that required surgery.

Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Martin Blackwell, 48, guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the February attack on Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk said the evidence was overwhelming and that Blackwell had behaved in a soulless and malicious way. He noted that it "takes a long time" for a pot of water to boil.

"You had so many outs where the voice of reason could have taken over," the judge told Blackwell, who had faced up to 80 years in prison.

Prosecutors said it was a vicious, premeditated attack. Tolbert testified that after pouring hot water on them, Blackwell grabbed him as he jumped and screamed in pain and told him: "Get out of my house with all that gay."

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trial-man-accused-boiled-water-attack-continues-41610112


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Original AP article at link:

Defense: Boiled Water Attack on Gay Couple Was Not Hate

By KATE BRUMBACK, ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA — Aug 24, 2016, 1:53 PM ET

A Georgia man accused of throwing boiled water on a same-sex couple sleeping in an apartment acted recklessly but wasn't motivated by hate or malice, his defense attorney said Wednesday.

Martin Blackwell is charged with eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the attack that left Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert with severe burns that required multiple surgeries. Prosecutors have said he faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.

Defense attorney Monique Walker acknowledged that Blackwell poured water on the pair and deserves to be punished, but she asked jurors to find that it was reckless conduct.

"It's not about hate. It's about old-school culture, old-school thinking," she told the jury.

The defense didn't call any witnesses and didn't present any evidence. Blackwell, who remained stoic throughout the trial, did not take the stand.

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