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A JUDGE HAS sentenced a Georgia man to 40 years in prison for throwing scalding water on a gay couple sleeping in an apartment, leaving them with severe burns that required surgery.
Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Martin Blackwell, 48, guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the February attack on Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk said the evidence was overwhelming and that Blackwell had behaved in a soulless and malicious way.
He noted that it “takes a long time” for a pot of water to boil.
“You had so many outs where the voice of reason could have taken over,” the judge told Blackwell, who had faced up to 80 years in prison.
Prosecutors said it was a vicious, premeditated attack. Tolbert testified that after pouring hot water on them, Blackwell grabbed him as he jumped and screamed in pain and told him: “Get out of my house with all that gay.”
Reckless
Blackwell’s defence acknowledged that he poured water on the pair, but 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.
The defence didn’t call any witnesses and didn’t present any evidence. Blackwell, who remained stoic throughout the trial, did not take the stand. He showed no reaction when the verdict was read.
Blackwell was a long-distance truck driver and lived with his girlfriend, Kim Foster, at her sister’s apartment in College Park when he was in town. Gooden, who is Foster’s son, and Tolbert had been dating about a month and were sleeping at the apartment Feb. 12 after working an overnight shift when Blackwell dumped scalding water on them.
Blackwell’s attorney said her client felt the young men’s behavior was disrespectful and that there were certain things people sharing a house shouldn’t do.
Prosecutor Fani Willis scoffed at the idea.
“We’re not going back to when you get to treat people differently because of who they are,” she said in closing arguments.
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It’s parents leave, not parental. Parental is fully unpaid, parents is paid by the state and then company dependent.
@D: perental leave is a term describing the type of leave not weather you get paid for it or not. Get a grip.
@Joe Byrne: I was explaining that it wasn’t the unpaid leave in case anyone was confused as the article initially said parental leave and it’s confusing with the different types of leave. Absolutely no need for that rude reply.
@Joe Byrne: it’s spelled parental
@Joe Byrne: what’s the weather like Joe???
Looks like I picked the wrong day to get a vasectomy.
14 months in Germany
Previously it was stated this bill would increase the parents leave to 7 weeks from 5 for parents of children born after July 2022. However now everywhere seems to say parents are entitled to take 7 weeks with no mention of the child having to be born after a specific date. Has this been extended retrospectively to all parents of children under 2? Would be good if some publishment whether it’s media or citizens information website could confirm as I’m not long (about 1 week ago) after receiving a reminder from social welfare that I’ve yet to apply to take the “5 weeks” that I’m eligible for.
@Darragh Bailey: The published information says you get seven weeks as long as the child is under two. If a parent has already taken five weeks and the child is still under two they are able to apply for the additional two weeks now also.
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