3 San Jose State University students were found guilty of battery on Monday. In Fall 2013 at SJSU, the 3 students, none over the age of 21, were given a misdemeanor battery charge after they put a bike lock around Donald Williams, Jr.’s neck. Colin Warren, Logan Beaschler, and Joseph “Brett” Bomgardner even called Williams the ‘N’ word and drew the Confederate flag in their room. SMH. All though one of the men was found not guilty of a hate crime, the jury reached a standstill point on the other two.
Witnesses gave account of the young boy being taunted by his former suit mates. Former Black Judge LaDoris Cordell, who is the head of the university’s campus task force on racial discrimination, released a statement on the case. He said,
“I am saddened that 12 jurors could not agree that calling a black male ‘Three-fifths’ or ‘Fraction,’ or forcing a lock around his neck, or creating an environment promoting racism with Confederate memorabilia, or hearing how this young man was humiliated, amounted to a hate crime. This verdict demonstrates that we are a long way from living in a post-racist America.”
Bomgardner claims that he had a very light role in the incident. Warren and Beaschler’s sentencing will take place on March 14. The all are looking at possibly 6 months to a year in jail.
