POLICE CALL ATTACK A BIAS CRIME / LJWorld.com

Archive for Saturday, October 2, 1999

October 2, 1999

Two men who allegedly said they "hate faggots" while beating up another man downtown face battery charges in what police are calling a bias crime because of the discriminatory statements made during the attack.

The incident occurred at 1:06 a.m. Thursday in the 800 block of Massachusetts, according to a police report released Friday.

Kansas doesn't have any statutes specifically designating hate crimes, but sentencing guidelines allow a judge to consider a stricter sentence if the offense was "motivated entirely or in part by the race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation" of the victim, said David Brown, a Lawrence attorney and president of the Douglas County Criminal Defense Attorney Assn.

Sgt. George Wheeler said the beating victim, a 25-year-old Lawrence man, was walking south on the east side of the 800 block of Massachusetts when the two suspects approached him, walking north. Wheeler said one of the two men allegedly made a comment about how the victim was walking, and the victim responded by calling the two men "faggots."

The two men then allegedly attacked the 25-year-old man, saying they hated homosexuals. Wheeler said they hit the man in the face and were assaulting him when a police officer on patrol drove by. Wheeler said the victim thought his nose was broken but that he was examined and released by paramedics at the scene.

The suspects, David Todd Hutson, 29, of Lawrence, and Chris Wesley Whidden, 23, of Labelle, Fla., were released Friday morning from the Douglas County Jail on bond. They each face one count of battery, and their next court appearance has been set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.