JACKSON, Mississippi — A defendant who participated in a string of racially motivated attacks on blacks in Mississippi, including the killing of a man run over by a truck, was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison.
John Blalack, 21, and a codefendant were the last two of 10 young white people to appear in court for sentencing in the 2011 attacks, which included the killing of James Craig Anderson, 47, and sparked outrage in a state that has struggled to overcome a long history of racism.
Blalack, who pleaded guilty in January to two counts of violating a hate crimes law, received the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Speaking in court, Blalack expressed remorse for his actions.
“I acted in harmful ways that didn’t agree with any part of who I was and am today,” Blalack said. “I’m not sure yet how to forgive myself.”
Robert Rice, 24, who pleaded guilty to one count of the same charge, which carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, was in court with Blalack, but his sentencing was postponed until May 8.
Sentences for the other eight defendants in the case have ranged from four years to consecutive life terms in prison, the latter handed down to Deryl Paul Dedmon, the driver of the pickup truck.
Beginning in the spring of 2011, the group sought out black people in around Jackson who they thought were drunk or homeless, attacking them with beer bottles, sling shots and vehicles.
Blalack described in January how on the night of Anderson’s murder, he and others traveled about 25 miles from a party in rural Puckett to Jackson, which they called “Jafrica,” to harass black people.
Rice was not present on the night of Anderson’s death but took part in at least three earlier attacks, including one in which another black man was beaten and left pleading for his life.
Addressing the defendants in court on Thursday was James Bradfield, Anderson’s same-sex partner, who lamented his son’s loss of his parent.
“What I want for you is the maximum sentence so you’ll have time to think about what you’ve done,” Bradfield told the defendants.