Tagged: hate crimes

The federal hate crimes trial of two men in Kentucky accused of beating another man because he was gay quickly grew murky, with tales of substance abuse, drug deals gone bad and homosexual trysts. The result was an acquittal--an embarrassing blow for prosecutors trying their first case under a hate crimes law expanded in 2009 to apply to crimes motivated by, among other things, a victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation.

A federal judge in eastern Kentucky has jailed a teenager who refused to testify for the prosecution in a hate crime case against his brother. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove had 18-year-old Alex Jenkins taken into custody Monday and said he would give him another chance to testify Tuesday in the case against Anthony Jenkins.

A federal judge has turned away a challenge to a federal hate crimes law and allowed jury selection to start for two eastern Kentucky men charged under the statute.