Jury rules against Westboro hate group, acquits West Virginia man

W.Va. man acquitted in Westboro spitting trial
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 9, 2011 15:32:53 EDT
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia man has been acquitted of battery charges for spitting on a member of the Westboro Baptist Church during a protest outside a Catholic church in Charleston last year.

The Charleston Gazette reports that Billy Spade of Hico was found not guilty by a jury in Charleston Municipal Court on Friday after deliberating for less than an hour.

Spade told jurors that as the son of a deceased coal miner, he was offended by protesters holding signs that said “Thank God for dead coal miners.” But it was the sign that said “Thank God for dead Marines” that prompted him to take aim at Shirley Phelps-Roper’s sign and spit at it.

Spade said a roadside bomb killed a friend whom he considered a little brother while he was serving as a Marine in Afghanistan.
read more here
W.Va. man acquitted in Westboro spitting trial