Georgia couple given years of prison for hate crime

White couple weep as judge gives them 28 years in prison for interrupting a black child's eighth birthday party with Confederate flags, racist slurs and armed threats


.Kayla Rae Norton, 25, and Jose Ismael Torres, 26 were sentenced to prison
.They received varying years for hate crimes in a Douglasville, Georgia, court
.Along with members of group 'Respect the Flag' they racially terrorized a family
.An African-American group was celebrating an eight-year-old's birthday in 2015
.Norton and Torres drove through with Confederate flags and spewed racial slurs

Superior Court Judge William McClain delivered Torres a sentence to 20 years, with 13 served in prison, and Norton was given 15 years with six to serve in prison.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Their actions were certainly deplorable. I don't know what to think any more about the hatred that is flowing through our country. At first I thought the punishment was too harsh. But then I thought of the damage, the hostility and fear they were creating in todays fragile state and how I might feel if I and my family were the victim of such behavior and felt the punishment was certainly earned. They will sure be the "example" for hate crimes. If all hate crimes were treated this harshly maybe things would be much better.

Adding from link above, this happened "less than a month after the fatal shooting of nine black men and women at a historic church in Charleston by 22-year-old Dylann Roof."

What does ATS think about the severity of the punishment.

a reply to: StoutBroux

What was the actual crime they were convicted of and what does the statute say for min-max penalty?

a reply to: StoutBroux


That does seem a bit excessive

I am just wondering what the crime was... disturbing the peace? Disorderly conduct? They are rotten people and they need to be punished, but it seems excessive and that it might set a troubling precedent.

ETA- possibly multiple counts of the same?

It does seem excessive and yet I have little to no sympathy. The line was certianly crossed when they uttered death threats along with the rest of their BS.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: StoutBroux


That does seem a bit excessive

One will spend 13 years in prison, the other will spend 6. Not as bad as the initial sentence makes it look. They threatened people including children with a shotgun singling out Black among the attendees.

I'm thinking they got off easy

originally posted by: onthedownlow
I am just wondering what the crime was... disturbing the peace? Disorderly conduct? They are rotten people and they need to be punished, but it seems excessive and that it might set a troubling precedent.

Street gang terrorism

originally posted by: Khaleesi

originally posted by: onthedownlow
I am just wondering what the crime was... disturbing the peace? Disorderly conduct? They are rotten people and they need to be punished, but it seems excessive and that it might set a troubling precedent.

Street gang terrorism

Given the racial epithets and targeting of select people, I'm sure they got a hate crime enhancement as well.

originally posted by: ColdWisdom
a reply to: StoutBroux

What was the actual crime they were convicted of and what does the statute say for min-max penalty?

"The convoy of trucks pulled up the birthday party for an eight-year-old child and the people started yelling racial slurs and threatened to kill people at the party, WSB reported. According to prosecutors, Torres pointed a shotgun at the party.

Norton and Torres were among more than a dozen charged out of the incident. They were charged under the state’s street-gang terrorism law, WAGA reported."

***SNIP***
Two others were charged with felonies and received shorter prison sentences after pleading guilty. Several others were charged with misdemeanors.

I'm researching more about this incident. I will try to find court filings and post.

ETA: But whoa, FB self incrimination.

Two other people have received prison sentences, while the rest of those involved, about a dozen, did not get prison time but pleaded guilty to misdemeanors or entered pre-trial diversion programs, Fortner said.

Local police came under fire on the day of the attack for choosing not to arrest any of the aggressors. But the Douglasville Police Department eventually built the case for prosecution, Fortner said.

The investigation included a review of thousands of Facebook pages that identified members of the Respect the Flag as white supremacists who discussed attending Ku Klux Klan rallies, joining a skinhead group and made derogatory remarks about black people, Fortner said.

www.nbcnews.com...

Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act of 2007

But you can read more about it here.

www.gachiefs.com...

originally posted by: FredT

originally posted by: Khaleesi

originally posted by: onthedownlow
I am just wondering what the crime was... disturbing the peace? Disorderly conduct? They are rotten people and they need to be punished, but it seems excessive and that it might set a troubling precedent.

Street gang terrorism

Given the racial epithets and targeting of select people, I'm sure they got a hate crime enhancement as well.

www.nydailynews.com...

Georgia does not have a hate crime statute.

According to this article there is no hate crime statute in Georgia. I'd have to dig further to confirm that.

They can rot in prison for all I care. Interrupting a birthday party, going out of their way just to upset folks, and doing it under the banner of my forefathers' flag? I wouldn't cry if Georgia euthanized them.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Khaleesi

Probably a federal charge.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: Khaleesi

Probably a federal charge.

I can only go by the articles in the news. None mention Federal charges. He was convicted of aggravated assault, terroristic threats and street gang terrorism. She was convicted of terroristic threats and street gang terrorism. Let them rot for all I care. Terrorizing a child is disgusting.

a reply to: vonclod

You shouldn't have sympathy. Either the punishment fits the crime or it does not.

It does seem excessive and yet I have little to no sympathy. The line was certianly crossed when they uttered death threats along with the rest of their BS.

Georgia doesn't have any hate crime laws. They were convicted of street gang terrorism (never heard of that). Good riddance.

NY Daily News

The judge was obviously motivated by the political influences of today's troubles, and that constitutes a miscarriage of justice. A gross one. Meanwhile, someone who takes a baseball bat to someone and breaks their legs, arms, and ribs might get 10 years in prison. Kangaroo courts bouncing up everywhere these days. Even the supreme court has turned into one.

What these people did is definitely sickening and sad, but 20 plus years in prison? Rapists don't even serve that long.

Good good. This is justice served...a nice light sentence (I would have given this POS life if possible) and a warning to other trash racists that their time is up...time to find a new country to dwell in their sewage and filth.

and yeah, regardless of their skintone..if it was a bunch of black dudes pointing weapons at white kids and calling them cracker and white ape, etc...same thing. waste of oxygen, all of them.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
The judge was obviously motivated by the political influences of today's troubles,

I think the judge was more motived by the absolute disgust that a fellow human being could be so vial and disgusting. This trash got what was richly deserved.

originally posted by: [post=21953501]NoCorruptionAllowed[/post
Rapists don't even serve that long.

Never good to try to compare cases.

A rapist could get a decade or two for messing with a persons life, but what this person did was potentially divide a entire community and used terrorism trying to envoke a community to become in fear.

To put it in perspective, someone may murder someone and get less of a sentence, because its different catagories of crime...terrorism is towards a entire community..a murder is against one person and may have complexities..this isn't complex...no nuances to try to understand to consider for sentencing.

originally posted by: SaturnFX

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
The judge was obviously motivated by the political influences of today's troubles,

I think the judge was more motived by the absolute disgust that a fellow human being could be so vial and disgusting. This trash got what was richly deserved.

Yes, but a judge is supposed to uphold the law and the constitution before casting judgement. Judges don't get to be motivated by their disgust or their feelings at all, they must obey the rule of law. This one didn't. By supporting his actions people will allow it to become the norm, then you are standing before this judge for jaywalking, he might have you sent to a hard labor camp for 2 years to learn some better manners.

This is why we must not allow these kinds of things to happen or they spiral out of control until one day you have zero rights left.