State Supreme Court Tosses Hate Crimes Law
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously struck down the state’s hate crimes law, saying the measure was so broadly worded that it could be used to prosecute a rabid sports fan for picking on somebody wearing a rival team’s cap.
The 7-0 ruling came in the case of a white man and a white woman who were convicted of beating two black men in Atlanta.
It was the first application of the 2000 law, which called for as many as five extra years in prison for crimes in which the victim was chosen because of “bias or prejudice.”
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