It was a story that seemed more likely to have been written by Rob Zombie than to turn out to be true, a young woman kidnapped, raped and tortured for days by six hillbillies she knew in passing. One of her assailants was the mother of two of the other criminals. She helped her son and daughter rape and torture a woman.

I had blogged about the case as part of a larger piece about the High Cost of Liberalism (which we are about to learn more about with the bailout) but Black and Missing but Not Forgotten has excellent coverage of the case. Many people believed the six monsters who raped and tortured Megan Williams for a week should have been charged with hate crimes, but only one was. Some believe that this was because Williams may have been romantically involved with one of the fiends prior to the assault, but most likely because there was so much more going on than just bigotry:

Defense attorney Joe Spradling, who represented two of the suspects in the past, said he believes there is some racial component to the allegations, “but the biggest factor is drugs.”

The six are charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and battery. If convicted of kidnapping, a suspect could face a sentence of up to life in prison. The penalty for first-degree sexual assault is 15 to 35 years.

Abraham said he is seeking the maximum sentence on the kidnapping charges. In addition to the Brewsters, the suspects are Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, West Virginia; and George A. Messer, 27, Karen Burton, 46, and her daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, all of Chapmanville, West Virginia.

“They all have previous records and have been arrested numerous times,” Sheriff W.E. Hunter said Tuesday. “They are familiar to law enforcement.”

Frankie Brewster was charged with first-degree murder in 1994, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the death of an 84-year-old woman. She was released in 2000 after serving five years in prison, according to court records cited by the AP.

None of these people should have been out on the streets in the first place, and certainly none deserve plea deals. All are dangers to society who will kill or attempt to kill again if they ever see the light of day. But again authorities are cutting deals and allowing these people to be given the opportunity to inflict more pain and suffering on society. Disgusting.

Here’s a video report from the AP:

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