You may remember this attack last year in which a gay man, Joe Holladay, was brutally attacked in the upper east side by a group of men, one of whom used the word "faggot." The next day, two other gay men were also attacked in the city by someone who also used the f-word. One of those men required a metal plate to be installed in his head. 20-year-old Driton Nicaj was arrested for his involvement in the both of those attacks and, though he faced multiple felony and hate crime charges, made a deal with the DA for 45 day in prison and three years probation. According to Gay City News, Nicaj was released last month for good behavior after serving just 21 days.
Holladay is speaking out: “It makes me sick to my stomach. It's not justice. I didn't expect him to go away for years. I certainly didn't expect it to end up being 45 days.”
The judge involved in the case claimed that Nicaj's use of the word "faggot" was “just typical trash-talking" and that "the most natural inference that can be drawn from defendant's alleged statement is that he was motivated by anger."
