Passenger who used racial slur, hit baby set for trial
The man accused of slapping a crying baby on a Delta Airlines plane is set to go on trial Thursday.
Joe Rickey Hundley is charged with misdemeanor simple assault for allegedly hitting a 19-month-old boy during a flight in February.
Authorities say Hundley used a racial slur to refer to the 19-month-old boy and then hit him under the right eye as the flight from Minneapolis began its descent to the Atlanta airport. Hundley, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to a year in prison if convicted.
Hundley originally denied calling the child a derogatory name, but has since admitted to the offense. The child’s mother Jessica Bennett said that Hundley told her “to shut that n-word baby up” before slapping her son in the face. Bennett also states that Hundley reeked of alcohol.
His lawyer Marcia Shein says that her client was not well when the altercation occurred. Shein claims that Hundley had been up for a full day before the incident and was traveling to Atlanta to take his child off of life support.
Everyone has bad days, but that’s no excuse to go putting your hands on people’s children.
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