A white Georgia couple terrorized a black family in 2015 and was sentenced to prison for the hate crime. They verbally attacked the family while they were celebrating their 8-year-old’s birthday.

The video of the incident went viral. It showed their misconduct, including waving a Confederate flag in the vehicle, carrying firearms, and hurling threatening racial slurs at the family. Identified as Kayla Rae Norton and Joe Torres, the duo were a part of a group called Respect The Flag. The couple came with the group and crashed the kid’s birthday party. Norton was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Torres was given a 20-year prison sentence.

The Georgia judge finalized such a long sentence for the couple as their actions were racially motivated. They did not just terrorize the family, but the whole neighborhood was fearful of them. The police received several 911 calls that day as they were in a vehicle that had Confederate flags.

Apart from terroristic threats charges, the couple was found guilty of violating the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. Several witnesses who were African American testified in court, confirming they were hurling slurs at them and waving weapons. Torres had a tactical 12-gauge with a pistol grip. He claimed he needed it for protection, even though the group used to verbally attack people.

Meanwhile, Norton was released from prison in 2019 after serving just 2 years in prison. Due to this, a victim felt disturbed after seeing her free on the streets. The victim contacted District Attorney Ryan R. Leonard. At that time, Leonard confirmed her release and briefed the victim on how to sign up for receiving notification about her parole.

He said, “From our notes, it appears that we notified the victims in person and in writing of how to register to receive parole notifications, as per our practice.”

According to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, she served one-third of her total sentence and became eligible for parole. However, she had to serve the rest of her sentence on probation. The case sparked different reactions. Some supported the long sentence, condemning the racial crime.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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On the other hand, some people argued that many criminals don’t receive such long sentences for murder and r. One Reddit user commented, “20 years? People r– children and get community service, crazy justice system we got. Not saying they don’t deserve it, I just wish objectively more heinous crimes always received proper sentences.”

The couple’s crying video from the court when the judge sentenced them to prison went viral. One pointed out, “Only crying cause she’s getting a sentence.” Norton also delivered a teary apology to the family, saying that it isn’t her and is sorry it happened to them. So another one quoted her and posted, “‘I would never walk up to you and say those things.’ Except for that time when you did so, armed and waving firearms at children.”