Written by Don Byrd
A jury in Ohio has found a group of Amish, accused of forcibly cutting the hair of fellow Amish they deemed impure in their faith, guilty of hate crimes.
The defendants did not deny their roles in the attacks, which were carried out with battery-powered clippers, scissors and razor-sharp shears that are designed to trim horse manes.
Rather, the case turned on the motives for the attacks and whether it was appropriate to make them into a major federal case under a 2009 hate-crimes law.
To prove the most serious charges, the jurors had to be convinced that the defendants had caused “bodily injury,” which could mean “disfigurement,” and that the attacks on nine of the victims were based mainly on religious differences.
The defendants had claimed that this was a matter of internal church discipline, not appropriate for a trial of this kind, but Ohio prosecutors and the judge held firm. A forcible assault is not an acceptable way to mete our church discipline. An appeal is expected.
