State Representative John Tilley, Chairman of the Kentucky House Judiciary Committee, responded to the comments of Judge Geoffrey Morris regarding his concerns with Kentucky not having a hate crime law for homicide. This issue was brought to light in an article by Jason Riley of the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Representative Tilley said that in wake of this criminal case calling into question whether Kentucky's hate crimes laws go far enough he thought it prudent to request the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee staff to begin researching the issue for clarification. Tilley said, "There have been some concerns brought up in recent days about our hate crime laws, so the next logical step is to see what the General Assembly may need to do in response."
Tilley says that the next step would be to set aside a committee meeting to allow greater discussion within the legal community. "If we have a loophole then we need to make sure it is closed as soon as possible." said Tilley.
Michael Stone was convicted of killing LaMartez Griffin in 2004. The C-J report states that Stone had a shaved head, a confederate tattoo and with a white power symbol. Testimony was given that Stone also made racial comments before killing Griffin.
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