GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, this happened in the South Carolina town where my paternal side of the family lives.
(CNN) -- Moments before their trial was to begin, five white South Carolina youths admitted their roles in a mob attack on a black teen and received prison sentences from a judge who called their actions "despicable" and "cowardly."
The teens, ages 17 and 18, tearfully stood before Judge Doyet Early with heads bowed as the judge gave them sentences ranging from 2 1/2 to six years in state prison.
Their victim, Isaiah Clyburn, 17, said through his lawyer that he forgave them.
"He holds no hatred in his heart for what they did," attorney Trey Gowdy said.
Teens plead guilty
Before lawyers could begin opening statements Tuesday, the teens pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and battery and second degree lynching.
South Carolina legally defines lynching as a mob attack against an individual where the victim survives.
Prosecutors said the five, riding to a nearby drag strip in three pickup trucks, accosted Clyburn on July 7 as he walked along a rural road in Cherokee County, South Carolina.(Watch a case that recalls a dark era -- 3:09)
One of the defendants shouted a racial slur. Another, identified as Christopher Scott Cates, challenged Clyburn to a fight, and the others surrounded Clyburn, beating and kicking him, prosecutors said.
Clyburn, who did not know any of his assailants, tried to run to a friend's house, but couldn't scale a barbed wire fence. The beating continued across the road and into a ditch, according to prosecutors.
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I am disgusted!!!!
Teens Sentenced to Prison for Lynching Black Teen on Country Road
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