NEW YORK – A man who identifies as bisexual has been found guilty of murder as a hate crime for shooting a gay man in New York City after taunting him on the street.
A Manhattan jury convicted Elliot Morales on Wednesday in the 2013 death of Mark Carson. Morales had argued that the shooting couldn't have been a hate crime because he is bi.
He faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Witnesses testified at Morales' trial that he shouted anti-gay slurs at Carson and his roommate before firing a fatal shot when the men confronted him.
New York's hate crime law doesn't say attackers need to be of a different ethnicity or sexuality than their victim.
Morales acted as his own attorney.
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