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Man gets 40 years for pouring scalding water on gay couple

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posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 08:41 AM
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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.


So when I read this opening statement, I thought to myself, 40 years? Yikes! After reading through the entire article it makes much more sense now. Burning someone so bad that they have to enter a medically induced coma? That, to me, is pretty intense.



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."

Sounds like a hate crime to me.



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.


To me it sounds like this could land a premeditated attempt at murder. Who know, I'm no lawyer.

Source



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 08:49 AM
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I really hate seeing stories like this, it makes me really sad. But I am grateful that you posted it because it really does show that no matter how hard you want to trust people, you shouldn't ever fully trust anyone.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 08:59 AM
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Good grief! Its actually hard to imagine this kind of carp STILL goes on in this so called "enlightened" 21st Century. Its like something from the 1800's. Glad he got the sentence he did



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 09:25 AM
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I was wondering what was going to happen to him! Hope he dies in prison. At one point the media was saying it wasn't a hate crime..
edit on 25-8-2016 by Tjoran because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 09:51 AM
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a reply to: slapjacks

Not saying this to be "controversial" but I fully expected this to be a Moslem related incident.

Propaganda is gettin' to me...

On a side note, not sure I understand the point of labeling something as a "hate crime".

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?

edit on 25-8-2016 by gladtobehere because: wording



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 11:04 AM
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a reply to: gladtobehere
Bigotry exists outside of religion you know. The man simply couldn't stand the fact that his girlfriend's son is gay and in his vicinity. Just more proof that America has a long way to go.

Lucky he's not Babylonian or they'd be disfiguring him back.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 11:37 AM
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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?


Aside from the important distinction between manslaughter and murder, I agree 100%. Most crime is motivated by hatred of some sort.. so there's little need to distinguish between racially or gender-based motivated hatred.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 11:41 AM
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a reply to: zosimov

Even as a gay man, I find hate crime legislation to be nonsensical. Every violent crime is the result of some form of hate.

I'm okay with the sentence in this case fore example, but I would expect anybody facing the same charges for the same incident to be held to that same standard, regardless of circumstances that led to the assault.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 02:11 PM
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originally posted by: Tjoran
I was wondering what was going to happen to him! Hope he dies in prison. At one point the media was saying it wasn't a hate crime..


All violent crime is a hate crime.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 02:38 PM
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a reply to: crazyewok

I agree, you'd hardly assault anyone using boiling water with feelings of love in your heart.

The judge was spot-on, it took time for that kettle to boil the water, it wasn't instinctive rage, he thought about it and had plenty of opportunity to make a different choice.
That's proper psycho # there, I support the long prison spell.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 02:57 PM
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a reply to: slapjacks

He would have gotten less time if he had just killed them.

Funny how 'justice' works these days.



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 03:08 PM
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a reply to: grainofsand

Yeah, it's psycho territory there. It was all about the attacker instead of being a 'gay' thing.


edit on 8.25.2016 by Kandinsky because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 03:10 PM
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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.

Come on, that was full on psycho #.
Killing someone in a fit of rage with a firearm or a knife is one thing, but boiling a pot of water and waiting like making a cup of tea?! FFS I wouldn't want someone who did that to be walking in my community until they were old and infirm.
Would you?



posted on Aug, 25 2016 @ 03:18 PM
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a reply to: Kandinsky

It's actually disturbing when I actually think how many people are probably out there who could dehumanise someone enough to pour boiling water over them or torture in any other horrible way.

I'll admit, if a close loved one was raped and/or murdered I'd perhaps have personal exceptions to my usual ethical and moral considerations...but the guy in the OP?! That is psycho zone stuff.
The prison sentence is good for the community in my opinion. The judge called it for what it was.



posted on Aug, 26 2016 @ 12:52 AM
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a reply to: slapjacks

I think that labeling an obvious malicious, vile act against another human being as a "hate crime" is more than a bit absurd. I know it's just a convenient and extremely popular term, and I'm not singling you out for using it...I'm referring to the absurdity of it in general.

Any time someone commits a violent crime against another person, it is automatically an act that comes from a place of hate. The distinction is superfluous, and tends to invite the idea that hate can be quantified. It's all hate, no matter whom it is directed toward.

This was absolutely horrific. Burns are terrible injuries. He allowed his hate to boil along with that pot of water. He had already decided from the moment he turned on the burner. And now he will rot in prison with that hate. I hope he chokes on it. He should have gotten the 80 years he was initially facing. Those men will live with the pain and scars from what he did for the rest of their lives. Just horrific.



posted on Aug, 26 2016 @ 01:37 AM
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a reply to: slapjacks

Somewhat ambivalent about this story.

Horrible, evil act, no doubt.

But...40 years????

This would just never happen in the UK...but then, maybe the UK needs to wake up?

There is actually a ULS scheme in the UK (stands for unduly lenient sentence) whereby cases are re-examined and the sentence increased if appropriate.

I bet he wishes he did his crime over here, because he'd be out walking and breathing the fresh air faster than it takes to boil a kettle (no pun intended).




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