A Georgia man who threw boiled water on a same-sex couple sleeping in an apartment claims he acted rashly, but that he wasn’t motivated by hate or malice.
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Blackwell was staying with his girlfriend at an apartment when he found her son and the son’s boyfriend asleep.
On February 12, Martin Blackwell threw a pot of water on Marquez Tolbert and Anthony Gooden while they were in bed, sending them to the emergency room with second and third-degree burns that required multiple surgeries.
A Fulton County judge sentenced 48-year-old Martin Blackwell to 40-years in prison. “It’s just, like, it’s excruciating, 24 hours a day, and it doesn’t go anywhere”, said Tolbert in the days after the attack.
The mother had been in a relationship with Blackwell for three years.
Having gone through such an ordeal makes him realize that life is precious, Tolbert said, and he’s ready to move on and focus on going to school to study architecture with a minor in computer engineering. While Georgia has no hate crimes law, the FBI has opened a hate-crimes investigation into the attack. Prosecutors said Blackwell was upset that two gay men were sleeping together under his roof, and that the attack was premeditated.
It was literally under a kitchen sink where Blackwell searched for the largest pot and filled it with water, Willis said.
Blackwell’s attorney, Monique Walker, presented a paper-thin argument that acknowledged that Blackwell poured boiling water on the pair and deserves retribution, but she is asking jurors to consider it reckless conduct. “It was repugnant”, [Walker] said. “And it’s a felonious act”, Willis said.
A man accused of pouring boiling water on a gay couple has been found guilty on eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault after refusing a plea deal the previous week.
They both testified Tuesday that they suffered great pain and were unable to perform even the most basic everyday tasks eating, bathing and using the bathroom without help when they got out of the hospital.
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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. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
