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Written by Jack Flynn / The Republican
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Thursday, 23 December 2010 18:26 |
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) — The first of three men charged with torching a black church hours after President Barack Obama's 2008 election was sentenced to nine years in prison for what the judge called a “particularly vicious act of stupidity.”
Benjamin J. Haskell, 23, also must pay a share of $1.7 million in restitution to the Macedonia Church of God in Christ and serve three years supervised release after completing his prison term.
“The element of rank, blind stupidity in this act is literally almost unbelievable,” U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor said from the bench.
“It is especially galling, however, that a crime like this would take place, not in Mississippi or Alabama, with their troubled histories, but in our City of Springfield, once a stop on the Underground Railway and the place where John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for president,” he added.
The rebuilt church is expected to open next spring or summer, according to Robinson.
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