Samuel Woodward was convicted greater than eight years after Blaze Bernstein's dying. (Getty)
A California man who was convicted of the hate crime homicide of a homosexual Jewish faculty pupil has been sentenced to life in jail.
Samuel Woodward was convicted of first-degree homicide in July for the 2018 killing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, whom Woodward apparently stabbed greater than 28 occasions within the face and neck.
Woodward's legal professional requested for a lesser sentence, simply 28 years to life in jail, citing the truth that jurors weren’t allowed to see all the proof throughout the trial.
However the choose went forward by giving Woodward the utmost sentence, with out the opportunity of parole, since there’s at present a moratorium on the dying penalty in California.
On the sentencing listening to, Bernstein's mom, Jeanne Pepper, mentioned: “Let's be clear. This was a hate crime. “Samuel Woodward ended my son's life as a result of he was Jewish and homosexual.”
Pepper was joined within the courtroom by her son's household and associates, who wore T-shirts that learn “Blaze It Ahead,” which is the slogan of a marketing campaign calling on others to commit acts of kindness in Bernstein's identify.
“Blaze's reminiscence and spirit will reside on in each act held in his honor,” he mentioned.
Through the trial, prosecutors mentioned Woodward was affiliated with an anti-gay neo-Nazi group known as Atomwaffen Division and linked his extremist views to the crime.
The 2 had beforehand attended the identical Orange County highschool, though Woodward was virtually ten years older than Bernstein. The court docket heard that in January 2018, Bernstein and Woodward agreed to satisfy by way of Snapchat.
Woodward then turned enraged after Bernstein tried to kiss him, apparently considering it was a date as a result of the 2 had related by way of a relationship app within the earlier months, main the previous to repeatedly stab Bernstein.
Bernstein's physique was discovered practically every week later in a park in Lake Forest, close to Los Angeles, and Woodward was arrested after DNA belonging to Bernstein was present in Woodward's rental automotive.
Woodward's legal professional argued that Bernstein's dying was not premeditated, however that he was struggling along with his sexuality resulting from rising up in a Catholic and politically conservative house. The protection additionally mentioned Woodward was uncertain tips on how to conduct private relationships, each romantic and platonic, resulting from undiagnosed autism.
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