A second arrest has been made in an Atlanta gay-bashing incident, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dorian Moragne turned himself in to police on Friday afternoon. Though turning yourself in could arguably make you look guilty, his lawyer Jay Abt told reporters in the video above that Moragne deserves to be considered innocent till proven guilty.
He also says that Moragne “doesn’t have a hateful bone in his body… I am on his behalf extending an olive branch to the LGBT community.”
Thanks, Mr. Abt, but we’ll wait till the trial is over to accept your tidings of peace. And we’ll let the FBI decide whether it wants to pursue this as a hate crime.
How about we take this to the next level?
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A first suspect named Christopher Cain was arrested two weeks ago. The police are still searching for the third assailant.
After the attackers uploaded the video to the internet, we and other bloggers asked the victim to come forward. He did, identifying himself as Brandon White. White bravely held a press conference to speak out on the issue.
Photo via Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
Bill
Shove that olive branch up your ass, bro.
William
Not one hateful bone in body
Turns himself in on horrific crime.
I should make an Awkward Penguin Meme with this.
Tim
I agree with Bill.
Dance A$$ of the Month
GO STUDID!!! What you did was all in hate for what ever reason!!
STUPID WAS WHAT STUPID DONE!!!
no sympathy here fella!!
Dance A$$ of the Month
GO STUPID!!!
MKe
An olive branch?!!! Seriously. Well if he doesn’t have a hateful bone in his body I’m guessing he was just standing around on that video and not attacking the boy? Then they won’t need to give an olive branch lol.
B
The AJC article QUEERTY cited contained the following statement: “But Moragne’s attorney cautioned people not to rush to judge his client. “Mr. Moragne isn’t guilty of a hate crime,” Abt said. “He is a young man who has the potential of being a good person in the future. He has no feeling of hate for anyone, regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation.””
English translation: given the evidence in the video, Mr. Moragne’s attorney is stating that his client did not commit a hate crime – it was simply a robbery and generally thuggish behavior. His attorney is trying to get him a shorter sentence but that isn’t going to keep him out of jail or out of quite a few hours of community service.
In the video, it’s worth noting that the attorney repeatedly said that his client did not commit a hate crime, not that his client did not commit a crime (the statements about “presumption of innocence” were probably there as a signal to the prosecution that they would enter a “not guilty” plea of they can’t get a plea-bargain agreement that excludes hate-crime enhancements).
CBRad
@B: That’s probably it. And, that IS the job of a defense attorney.
ousslander
he should be beaten with that olive branch
Queer Supremacist
Of course he doesn’t have a hateful bone in his body. His pea-sized brain and his black little heart are where the hate resides.