The man who is
accused of pouring scalding water on a sleeping gay couple, causing
them burns so severe that they required extensive skin surgery, has been
indicted and could face up to 80 years in jail.
According to
the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, Martin Blackwell,
48, is facing eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated
assault.
Georgia does
not have a sentence enhancement for hate crimes.
On February 12,
Blackwell is said to have poured scalding water on Anthony Gooden, 23, and his
boyfriend, Marquez Tolbert, 21, as they slept in a College Park apartment
which Gooden shares with his mother, Kim Foster. She has been in a relationship
with the accused for three years.
Blackwell told
authorities that he was disgusted with Gooden’s relationship with Tolbert.
Tolbert
sustained second and third degree burns and spent 10 days at Grady Memorial
Hospital undergoing surgery that took skin from his thigh to replace skin on
his back.
Gooden
sustained severe burns on his face, neck, back, chest and arms. For two
weeks he was in a coma, and was released from hospital approximately a week
ago.
Gooden came out
to his family last year, and introduced his boyfriend to relatives. Blackwell
allegedly expressed disapproval of the gay couple the night before the assault.
According to
news reports, the victims stated Blackwell yelled, ‘Get out of my house with
all that gay.’
Blackwell reportedly
told the police, ‘They was stuck together like
two hot dogs, so I poured a little hot water on them and helped them out. They
was stuck like two hot dogs. They’ll be all right; it was just a little hot
water.’
The FBI has
recently announced that it is investigating the attack as a hate crime although
Georgia does not specific hate crime laws.
In states that
do not have hate crime laws, victims of alleged hate crimes must rely on the
federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act that calls for fines and up to 10 years in
prison.
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