A successful Seattle prosecution under Matthew Shepard-James Byrd hate crime law

A Bremerton man received a 30-month jail sentence on Monday, after being charged and pleading guilty under the seminal Matthew Shepard James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crime Prevention Law, a statute named for a Wyoming college student beaten to death and an African-American who was dragged three miles behind a pickup truck by white supremacists. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigilantly protect the rights of victims who are targeted simply because of their sexual orientation: Six years