Tolerance for Hate Groups in Indiana?
INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
By Leslie L. Fuller
INDIANA---Garrett Gray, then 19, and Coleman King, 18, stated they beat Hall to death because they believed him to be homosexual and he allegedly made an advance toward one of them. In 45 other states and the District of Columbia, similar comments and crime would translate to a lengthy sentence for Gray and King, say some legal commentators, including Indianapolis attorney Gary Welsh. However, in the Hoosier State, the testimony, sometimes described as “the gay panic defense” was actually used to reap the coveted prize of lighter sentences for the pair, said Welsh. Why? Indiana has no state hate crime law. Besides Indiana, South Carolina, Wyoming, Arkansas and Georgia do not have a state hate crime law. [link]
By Leslie L. Fuller
INDIANA---Garrett Gray, then 19, and Coleman King, 18, stated they beat Hall to death because they believed him to be homosexual and he allegedly made an advance toward one of them. In 45 other states and the District of Columbia, similar comments and crime would translate to a lengthy sentence for Gray and King, say some legal commentators, including Indianapolis attorney Gary Welsh. However, in the Hoosier State, the testimony, sometimes described as “the gay panic defense” was actually used to reap the coveted prize of lighter sentences for the pair, said Welsh. Why? Indiana has no state hate crime law. Besides Indiana, South Carolina, Wyoming, Arkansas and Georgia do not have a state hate crime law. [link]
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