Man Sentenced For Hate Crime Charges

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A judge has sentenced a white man to 20 years in prison for repeated assaults on African-Americans in Mississippi’s capital city, and a second sentencing has been delayed.

U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate sentenced 21-year-old John Louis Blalack of Brandon to the 20-year maximum. He pleaded guilty to two felony hate crime charges in January.

Autoworker James Craig Anderson died in June 2011 after being beaten and run over by a truck.

Wingate says he will sentence another man, Robert Henry Rice, on aggravated assault charges and not Anderson’s death. Officials say they must recalculate sentencing guidelines for Rice, and Wingate will now decide his sentence May 8.

Rice pleaded guilty to one felony hate crime charge in January and faces up to 10 years in prison.