NEWS FLASH

Two Kentucky Women Convicted Under Federal Hate-Crimes Law | Two Eastern Kentucky women have become the first people in the U.S. convicted under provisions federal hate-crimes law covering acts of violence “motivated by a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.” Alexis Leeann Jenkins and Mable Ashley Jenkins pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping and one charge of aiding others in causing bodily injury. The charges stem from a 2011 assault in which the two young women lured Kevin Pennington, a friend to a secluded spot where he was dragged out of a pickup truck and beaten. Both women face possible life sentences and are expected to be sentenced in August. Other named assailants have been charged in the April 4, 2011 attack, and while both have pleaded not guilty, they could also face life sentences if convicted. In 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act, which added gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability to the federal definition of a hate crime. — Fatima Najiy