Prosecutors have said Blackwell faces up to 80 years in prison.
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According to the Washington Post, the jury spent approximately 90 minutes deliberating before finding Blackwell guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault.
Blackwell, who stayed at the house when he passed through while out in his truck saw the men sleeping, boiled a saucepan of water and poured it over the pair.
“You had so many outs where the voice of reason could have taken over”, Newkirk said.
In an emotional video with a local news channel, Tolbert said he thought the attack was fueled by hatred. Prosecutors said Blackwell was upset that two gay men were sleeping together under his roof, and that the attack was premeditated.
He was not charged with a hate crime as Georgia is one of five states that does not recognise it. An FBI spokesman told Reuters that federal investigators are considering whether to charge Blackwell with a federal hate crime. Blackwell is accused of pouring hot water on two gay men as they slept.
“It’s not about hate”.
But outside the courtroom, there were hugs and sighs of relief for both Gooden, 24, and Tolbert, 21, who have remained friends through their ordeal. He showed no reaction when the verdict was read.
Tolbert says although it will be hard. he does plan to forgive Blackwell.
The mother had been in a relationship with Blackwell for three years.
Gooden’s mother had been dating Blackwell around three years at the time of the attack.
Blackwell’s defence attorney Monique Walker told jurors her client was reacting to behaviour he found disrespectful.
Prosecutor Fani Willis scoffed at the idea.
She admitted the burning was “revolting” and “repugnant”, but said the 40 year punishment did not fit the homophobic crime, arguing that it could have been worse. “It was just a little hot water”. Blackwell’s defense attorneys chose to delay their opening statement until the prosecution rests. “And it’s a felonious act”, Willis said.
Burn victim Anthony Gooden (left), 24, got help with his injured hand during a break in court on Wednesday. “You could be with somebody for a long time and never know who they are”, she told WSB.
Tolbert sustained second and third degree burns and spent 10 days at Grady Memorial Hospital after undergoing surgery that took skin from his thigh to replace skin on his back.
Both men suffered severe burns that required multiple surgeries and skin grafts.
The two testified Tuesday about the excruciating pain they said they suffered as a result of the attack. He was nervous before the trial, but once he testified about what had happened, he felt a weight lift, he said.
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“I’m ecstatic”, Tolbert said.
