Hico man acquitted in Westboro Baptist spitting trial

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Fayette County man was acquitted Friday of battery charges for spitting on a member of the Westboro Baptist Church during a protest outside a Catholic church last year.

Billy Spade of Hico told the jurors that as the son of a deceased coal miner, he was offended by protesters holding signs that said "Thank God for dead coal miners."

But it was the sign that said "Thank God for dead Marines" that sent him over the edge.

A roadside bomb killed a friend whom he looked upon as a little brother while he was serving as a Marine in Afghanistan, Spade said. So he took aim at Shirley Phelps-Roper's sign and spat at it.

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201104081537