Murder, Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Tulsa Suspects

The two suspects in last Friday's killings in Tulsa of three African-Americans and wounding of two others were formally charged today with "three counts each of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with intent to kill and five counts of malicious intimidation or harassment," the Tulsa World reports.

Jake England, 19, and 33-year-old Alvin Watts were arrested over the weekend. The attacks terrorized African-Americans in the Tulsa area.

According to the World, Oklahoma law defines hate crimes as "malicious harassment," which "occurs when a person acts 'maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person's race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability.' "

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