TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas is weighing federal hate crime charges against two white men investigators say attacked a 54-year-old black man and set him on fire.
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Tuesday the office will investigate the Oct. 7 attack on Sterling Law at his home in Council Grove. Law suffered second-degree burns to his stomach and upper legs.
The Morris County prosecutor Laura Allen has charged 23-year-old Isaac Wilson with aggravated battery and aggravated burglary. She provided no information on whether the second suspect had been identified.
Law’s brother and a friend say he knew the attackers, but they don’t know if Law had been threatened in the past. The brother also says Law lives alone and has a diminished mental capacity.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.