Three men were who found guilty of attacking an African-American man at a bus stop in Houston, Texas last summer have been sentenced.  The sentences range from 2 ½ years to more than 6 years.  This is the first case in the state of Texas that has been decided under a new federal hate crime law.

The federal law that the men were sentenced under is the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  The legislation was passed in 2009, and named in memory of 2 hate crime victims whose stories gained nationwide attention. 

Under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Junior Hate Crimes Prevention Act, violent acts or attempted violent acts that are perpetrated based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability are all criminal acts.  Under the law, defendants who have been found guilty of hate crimes are eligible for lengthier prison sentences.  In this case, the 3 men were eligible for longer sentences than they would have been eligible for under the assault charges filed by the state.

According to the charges, the 3 men had approached the young man in August 2011 at the bus stop.  They tried to frighten and threaten him by removing their shirts and showing him the white supremacist tattoos in their bodies.  When the victim tried to ignore them, they began attacking him. 

The men insisted that their actions were not racist, and that these actions were not influenced by white supremacist beliefs.  However, prosecutors held that all 3 men's actions had been purely motivated by racist hatred.

One of the men, who received the longest sentence of 77 months, has several convictions on his record, including robbery and aggravated assault.  Another man was sentenced to 37 months, while the 3rd man was sentenced to 30 months.