Georgia will not charge a man with hate crime for pouring boiling water on a gay couple

Anthony Gooden and Marquez  Tolbert were sleeping in Gooden’s apartment when Martin Blackwell, the boyfriend of Gooden’s mother walked in and poured boiling water over the couple.  The two men had to spend 10 days and nearly one month in hospital after the attack. Blackwell told Tolbert, ‘Get out of my house with all that gay shit.’

Tolbert spoke about the pain he suffers with Atlanta’s WSB-TV, saying ‘It doesn’t dial down, anything, It’s just there.’

Blackwell is currently in jail, charged with two counts of aggravated battery.

However Blackwell will not be charged with a hate crime as Georgia doesn’t include sexual orientation in its hate crimes laws, along with 19 other states in the US.

Watch Marquez Tolbert talk about his experience in his interview with WSB-TV.

Words: Rhys Mathews