In Kentucky, openly gay resident Kevin Pennington testified in federal court that he jumped off a mountain in April 2011 because he believed two men chasing him were going to kill him, according to an Albany Times Union item.
Anthony Ray Jenkins and cousin David Jason Jenkins are charged with kidnapping Pennington, assaulting him and committing a federal hate crime; Mable Ashley Jenkins and Alexis Jenkins, who lured Pennington by trying to score a prescription drug, pled guilty in April 2012 to lesser charges in exchange for their testimony.
Government attorneys say this is the first prosecution in the country charging a violation of the sexual-orientation section of the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was passed three years ago.