JACKSON, Miss. – The last two of 10 young whites who repeatedly assaulted black people in Mississippi's capital city are scheduled for sentencing Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate will sentence John Louis Blalack and Robert Henry Rice, both Brandon residents.
Blalack pleaded guilty to two felony hate crimes charges in January. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $500,000. Rice pleaded guilty to one felony hate crime charge. He faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Prosecutors say Blalack helped distract James Craig Anderson in a parking lot in June 2011, detaining him until an assault began. Anderson died after he was run over by a truck.
Rice participated in at least three earlier attacks, but wasn't present when Anderson died.
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