Robert Hannah, who last month pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault for the September 2008 assault on 27-year-old Tony Hunter near Washington D.C.'s Be-Bar, has been sentenced to just six months in jail.
Hannah claimed that Hunter made a
sexual advance toward him which inspired him to punch Hunter to the
ground. Hunter died of his injuries ten days later in the hospital.
The Washington Post reports: "Before issuing his sentence, Judge Rafael Diaz acknowledged many of the letters written to the court from gay rights groups and Hunter's family asking Diaz to sentence Hannah to the maximum 180 days.
During the hearing, Hannah told Hunter's mother, sister and stepfather — who sat in the front row wiping away tears — that he was sorry, although he never looked at the family and kept his eyes on Diaz.
Diaz told Hannah that he was lucky that he wasn't charged with homicide.
"You have to consider other options other than violence," Diaz said. "You could have done other [things] than punch or hurt someone."
Before a marshal led Hannah away in handcuffs, Diaz also ordered him to pay $50 in court costs.
"We drove 300 miles to see him get six months in jail for killing my son," said Hunter's stepfather, John Yarborough of Franklinton, N.C., Hunter's home town."
