Mass. man to be sentenced in black church arson

Mass. man to be sentenced in black church arson
By Associated Press  |   Sunday, October 31, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

SPRINGFIELD — One of three white men convicted of setting a fire that burned down a predominantly black church in Springfield hours after Barack Obama was elected president faces sentencing in federal court.

Benjamin Haskell pleaded guilty to civil rights charges in June in a plea deal that calls for him to spend nine years in prison. The 23-year-old Haskell is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield.

The fire destroyed the Macedonia Church of God in Christ in Springfield in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2008, the day after Obama was elected America’s first black president.

The church was under construction at the time. It had about 300 members, most of whom were black.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1292814