A white man threw acid at a Latino in Wisconsin. The judge punished his "diabolical" act but he insisted: "It still scares me"

A Wisconsin judge has sentenced Clifton Blackwell, a 64-year-old white man, to 10 years in prison for throwing acid in Mahud Villalaz's face.

a Latino man, at a bus stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in November 2019.

"All people are different," said the judge, Jean Marie Kies, and "when we let those differences cloud our judgment, that is prejudice, discrimination, and, in this case, hate."

“I am sure that [the attack] caused him a lot of pain, and caused him emotional trauma from which, I think, he will never recover,” the judge added, “it made him feel worthless, and that is diabolical.”

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Villalaz testified that

and the judge said the victim suffered second-degree burns.

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Blackwell attended the trial in a wheelchair, dressed in prison uniform.

Asked if he had anything to say before receiving his sentence, he stated that Villalaz "still scares him a lot."

"I'm sorry all this happened.

It scares me to think that I could die right now of a heart attack.

I would definitely do things differently," the defendant stated.

Blackwell's lawyer, Michael Plaisted, asked for his client a sentence of two or three years in prison, arguing that he was not part of any racist group, that he was carrying the acid only to defend himself, and that he has been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. .

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The attorney admitted that Blackwell may have decided to argue with Villalaz because he was Hispanic, but said he had no intention of starting a fight.

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"I don't think anyone should draw too many conclusions from this case, although I think there are people who have based [their perception] on limited information," Plaisted said.

"He didn't go out that day with the intention of hurting anyone, but he did and that is why he has been found guilty," he added.

Kies said he heard no remorse from Blackwell and that he had to send a message to the community that targeting people because of their race is not acceptable.

"You don't tolerate other people

," the judge told him.

Blackwell was waiting for a bus when he told Villalaz that he had illegally parked his vehicle in a bus stop area outside a restaurant, according to prosecutors.

In the surveillance video, Blackwell can be seen pulling a bottle of acidic drain cleaner out of his backpack.

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Villalaz moved his vehicle and headed back toward the restaurant.

He argued with Blackwell again and Blackwell threw the acid in his face.

The jury convicted Blackwell in April of first-degree reckless injury with use of a dangerous weapon as a hate crime.

Jurors rejected Blackwell's arguments that he was scared because Villalaz was so angry, and that he threw the acid at Villalaz as Villalaz was about to hit him.

Villalaz, a US citizen who emigrated from Peru, testified that he was angry that Blackwell told him he had invaded his country and that he should leave.

The judge reminded Blackwell that Villalaz is as much an American citizen as he is, adding five years of probation to his prison sentence.