A Call to Action Demand Justice

This is From Rod 2.0 blog, click to read post

A gay Toledo man is dead after a brutal beating and the suspect is released from jail without bond. There is no official explanation for the vicious assault on Marland Woods that included "kicking and stomping" his head ... but police say "there is no indication" it was a hate crime.

The trouble began the early morning of December 13 on the dance floor at Caesar’s Showbar. The brawl spilled into the street after the crowd was ejected. Thirty-two-year-old Woods reportedly tried to intervene and protect another individual during the melee.

Woods then walked across the street to the bus station at 711 Jefferson, where he was attacked by another man, Toledo police said. The man kicked Mr. Woods and stomped on his head. He then fled with two others in a white Jeep. Shortly after, police stopped the vehicle at 17th and Adams streets and arrested Mr. Corggens after a brief scuffle, officers said. Jade Boff, 21, of Fostoria also was charged with disorderly conduct, intoxication, and resisting arrest.

Woods was hospitalized and succumbed to head injuries nearly a week later on Dec. 19. Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Corggens with felonious assault, reports The Courier, "but have not charged him or anyone else with murder." Corggens was released on his own recognizance pending a January 8 preliminary hearing. It's not known if Lucas County prosecutors will upgrade charges to manslaughter or perhaps second-degree murder.

Woods had a 10-year domestic partnership with Brian Hunker. The two purchased a house together in Findlay in 2005 and had a commitment ceremony in September. "Every hour is a struggle," Hunker tells WTVG.

Says Shonda Floyd, the sister: "He was such a homebody. This was only the second time this year he went to a bar and this happened to him. He never started any trouble. He died trying to keep someone else from being hurt." Shonda Floyd adds to WTVG: "I am so angry ... I want to see some type of justice. They stomped my brother. It’s absolutely not right... They took away my kids’ uncle. They took away my brother."

We must call and demand justice in this case..