KKK to Pay $2.5M for Assault and Battery

After a three-day trial at the Meade County, Kentucky courthouse, a jury rendered their verdict against the Kentucky chapter of the Ku Klux Klan and its leaders in a case brought by a teenager who was severely beaten by two of the chapter's members. The civil rights attorneys are hopeful that the assault and battery convictions will bankrupt the chapter.

Compensatory and Punitive Damages

The Nov. 14 verdict ordered the following compensation to be paid to 19-year-old Jordan Grover:

• "Imperial Klans of America" - $1.5 million for his medical expenses and lost wages
  
• "Grand wizard" Ron Edwards - $1 million in punitive damages.

The judgment is active for 15 years, giving Gruver and his attorneys — the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) — adequate time to pursue assets from the defendants.

KKK Lieutenants and Wizard Ordered to Pay

In 2006, former Klan "lieutenants" Andrew Watkins and Jarred Hensley beat Gruver, a Latino, breaking his jaw and causing permanent nerve damage to his arm. Watkins reached a settlement before the trial. Hensley represented himself at the trial, and will have to pay 40 percent of the compensatory damages, amounting to $600,000.

Property Will Be Seized

Wizard Edwards' real estate in Dawson Springs, Kentucky — which has served as the Klan's headquarters — will be targeted as part of the judgment for punitive damages, according to the lead SPLC attorney, Morris Dees. As Dees explained in his closing statement to the jury, "It's all about the money…if you stop the money, you'll cut the organization off."

Edwards, who also represented himself at the trial, says that he plans to appeal the verdict, and that the Klan will remain active. During the trial, he denied the charges and contended that his KKK chapter is not violent.

The current case echoes more than 10 other legal actions by the SPLC against hate groups. For example, in 1999, their lawsuit bankrupted the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group.

source: http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/articles/kkk-assault-battery.html