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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.
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."
The prosecutor said Blackwell's actions were well thought out. He took the time to select the biggest pot in the house, filled it with water and waited for it to boil. That gave him plenty of time to think about what he was doing and the consequences, Willis said. Gooden, 24, spent about a month in the hospital, two weeks of that in a medically induced coma, and Tolbert, 21, spent 10 days in the hospital. Both men suffered severe burns that required multiple surgeries and skin grafts.
originally posted by: gladtobehere
a reply to: slapjacks
If two people are assaulted, does or should the motivation really matter?
How does it make sense to punish similar acts differently based on the alleged motive?
originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: slapjacks
He would have gotten less time if he had just killed them.
Funny how 'justice' works these days.