GEORGIA: Maniac Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison For Pouring Boiling Water On Sleeping Gay Couple

The Associated Press reports:

A jury convicted a Georgia man on Wednesday for throwing boiled water on a same-sex couple sleeping in an apartment, leaving them with severe burns that required surgery. Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Martin Blackwell guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the attack on Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Blackwell’s defense attorney acknowledged that he poured water on the pair and said he deserved to be punished, but the lawyer asked jurors to find that it was reckless conduct. “It’s not about hate. It’s about old-school culture, old-school thinking,” Monique Walker told the jury. Prosecutors said it was a vicious, premeditated attack, and that Blackwell told one of the men “get out of my house with all that gay” after pouring hot water on the couple.

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. Prosecutors asked jurors to find Blackwell guilty of aggravated battery for disfigurement and loss of use of body parts and guilty of aggravated assault for dumping the hot water on them. Georgia doesn’t have a hate crime law. The FBI said in March that it had opened a hate crime investigation.

Both victims testified that their injuries make it impossible to perform everyday personal tasks without help. A GoFundMe page (warning: gruesome photos) for one of the victims has raised nearly $70K for his recovery.