Philadelphia Gay Bashing Update--Arrested, Convicted, Sentenced--and JAILED

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 1:26pm

Here's a great update on the bashing, with many of the holes in the story cleared up: "People are going to get locked up," the source said. Up to a dozen people were involved in the attack, which occurred around 10:45 p.m. Sept. 11 at 16th and Chancellor streets. A male couple, 27 and 28, was walking to get pizza when they said one of the men brushed shoulders with a member of the group, and that person asked if the two were a couple. They responded that they were, and the group attacked, with some members holding the victims down and others kicking and punching them. The one victim’s head was smashed into the cement and he suffered facial fractures that necessitated his jaw being wired shut for eight weeks. As the men were being attacked, one of their bags, containing a cell phone and wallet, fell to the ground and one of the assailants took it. A source close to the investigation said one of the members of the group said she picked up the bag in the melee thinking it belonged to a companion and, upon realizing it did not, dropped it at 16th and Walnut streets. This statement from the assistant district attorney and LGBT liaison clarifies what the police and the DA could be doing if Pennsylvania had not gutted their hate-crimes legislation: “If someone commits a crime and the ethnic-intimidation charge is appropriate, like it would be in this case if we had protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, there would be a whole separate crime committed and that would be graded one grade higher than the most serious offense,” she said, noting that a second-degree felony could net someone a maximum of 10 years in the criminal-justice system, but an added hate-crimes charge, which would be counted as a first-degree felony, could extend that to 30. In 2002, the Pennsylvania legislature added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state hate-crimes law, which already covered aspects such as race and religion. But it was challenged in court by opponents and ultimately repealed on a technicality.

PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS: Arrests expected 'this week' in gay bashing Updated On: 2/9/16 at 01:26 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:16pm

I live in Philly and am very glad some of this scum are headed to the chokey. The fact that they are all clean-cut young white kids (with reportedly good lawyers)worries me, however, that they won't have to face any serious penalties for this crime.

I'm more terrified of drunken young white dudebros over hoodie-wearing black men any day.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:18pm

This is depressing. Philadelphia Magazine has a seature in which someone allows themselves to be interviewed in exchange for anonymity.

In this case, a Philadelphia cop explains why the perpetrators will go free--and why that would not happen if Pennsylvania had a hate-crimes statute that included sexual orientation.




PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE: The Real Deal: A Philly Police Officer Speaks Anonymously His prediction: No jail time in Center City gay-bashing

Updated On: 9/22/14 at 03:18 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:32pm

Jail time/no jail time is highly speculative at this point.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 3:35pm

Why not arrest the entire group and weed it out from there?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 4:18pm

If you read both articles, not everyone in the group committed a crime, but all of them lawyered up with expensive lawyers. Some of them say they didn't even know what exactly was happening.

Each interview takes 4 hours, and the police hope that some of the interviews will yield damning admissions or accusations. But with expensive lawyers advising their clients "You don't have to answer that," the job gets that much harder.

So the police have to dot every i and cross every t to make sure they present an airtight case to the DA. Then the DA decides on what charges the individuals will be tried on.

The international attention to the case also means attention to any false move on the part of police that could get the case thrown out of court.

The cop in the second article doubts that the interviews will yield enough evidence for the DA to get a conviction when the jury only has to find reasonable doubt for an acquittal.

The source in the first article seems to think that there was one perpetrator who did the most violence and that there will be enough evidence to convict him. I'm wondering if that was the assistant coach from the Catholic school who got fired so quickly.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 4:21pm

There also may or may not be another video of the actual incident.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 5:28pm

The cop in the second interview says the cops don't have it: "If the defense attorneys are claiming they have a copy, OK. But we do not. I did hear that they're saying they have a video." It's also possible it's a something one of the defense attorneys is saying for bluster, like saying it was "self-defense."

[SNAFU]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 5:48pm

You would think if they did have it they would release it. If it does in fact show one of the "victims" throwing the first punch, wouldn't it pretty much exonerate the attackers?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 4:15pm

Three people charged, the HS coach not among them

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 4:39pm

Interesting that one of the three charged is one of the women.

Also, that the DA added criminal conspiracy to the charges.

Also that, despite there being no LGBT inclusion in the Pennsylvania hate-crimes law, both the DA's office and the Philadelphia police have been very clear: This was a hate crime.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 4:48pm

If nothing else, it has raised the discussion about including LGBT under the hate crimes law here in Philadelphia to a new level. People here--gay, straight, whichever-are pissed about this happening in their city in the most populous and central area of town.

[tazber]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 5:59am

During an announcement of a proposed hate crime bill, Senator Ferlo "came out".

The quotations are because he was never really in the closet, it just wasn't something that had come up.


I'm gay. Get over it. I love it. It's a great life.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 9:57am

The guy on the right is State Representative Brian Sims, who is out and gay and pretty fierce (especially since growing the beard).

In that same press conference, he blasts the Republican leadership for saying there wasn't time enough in the legislative calendar this year to pass a law adding LGBT to the hate-crimes statute.

Listen to him express the anger of the entire Pennsylvania LGBT community.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 10:01am

Oh, F*CK. The girl being charged is the daughter of the police chief.



TOWLEROAD: 3 PHILADELPHIA GAY BASH SUSPECTS TURN THEMSELVES IN; ONE IS DAUGHTER OF POLICE CHIEF - VIDEO

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 12:32pm

Another picture of Ms. Knott, this one from her Twitter feed:

[tazber]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 12:39pm

God I hate her.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 12:39pm

At their Southampton home, no one answered but when we asked several neighbors about the charges against Knott, off camera, they would only say they're not surprised.

How AWFUL do you have to be to have neighbors not say "She's quiet, keeps to herself… this is a shock…"?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 12:44pm

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BU9Yh1ACAAAoRwc.png


Meet #PhillyHateCrime Defendant Kathryn Knott

[tazber]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 12:51pm

She is awful.

Homophobic, racist, careless, and selfish.

And the fact that she's the police chief's daughter...well there's no excuse.

She is the inspiration for all those "entitled white girl" memes that have been going around recently.

I hope she gets a serious slap-in-the-face wake up call.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 1:01pm

Good Lord, this just gets worse and worse.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 1:04pm

She's what I like to call 'charm-free'.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 1:31pm

Daddy's little darling. I bet he's super proud. Where can we email those links to him?

[tazber]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 1:38pm

Hopefully by now Daddy has seen them.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 1:47pm

Yes, these "affluent" kids don't have one sense of style among them.

God, I hope they are suffering right now. REALLY suffering. Regardless of how it started, this is what happens when you don't walk away.