According to MetroNews, more than two years after a former Marshall University football player was first charged with punching two men he’d seen kissing on a Huntington sidewalk, the state Supreme Court is taking up the question of whether Steward Butler can be charged with a hate crime under West Virginia law.

 

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in Charleston.

 

“This is a violation of civil rights because of sex and the state should have been allowed to take this to a jury,” said Lauren Plymale, Cabell County assistant prosecuting attorney.

 

In early April 2015, Huntington Police said Butler was in a passing car when he spotted the two men on a 9th Street sidewalk.

 

The criminal complaint alleged Butler exited the car, shouted homophobic slurs at the men and then punched the victims, Zackary Johnson and Casey Williams.

 

Originally, Butler was charged with two misdemeanor battery charges. Later, he was indicted on two additional counts for alleged violations of civil rights.

 

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