Stephen Scantlebury is facing the potential for a harsher penalty, after the brutal attack on a nurse at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital.
The incident, which happened Tuesday, left the victim with broken bones throughout her face — possibly even blinding her.
WATCH: A group of nurses is gathering to show support for victim
The 33-year-old suspect is already facing a charge of attempted second-degree murder. Investigators say a hate crime enhancement has now been added, telling WPTV’s Michael Hoffman that the motivation for the enhancement is because Scantlebury allegedly made comments about the victim’s ethnicity during the attack.
Scantlebury's arrest report states while in the hospital, he allegedly jumped on top of his bed and onto the nurse who was caring for him, and proceeded to repeatedly hit her in the face. If convicted, a hate crime enhancement would result in harsher penalties.
What is a hate crime enhancement?
Hoffman spoke with former state attorney Dave Aronberg, who says that a hate crime is an enhancement on a charge and not a separate charge in itself. Meaning that it could take a misdemeanor to a felony, or a felony to a harsher class of felony.
“Hate crime is not an underlying crime,” said Aronberg. “It's not a standalone crime. In Florida, it's an add on. It's an enhancer. It takes something that would be perhaps a misdemeanor and makes it into a felony. Or, if it's a serious felony, it could take it into an even more serious one. It definitely is a powerful tool to go after those who are motivated by prejudice.”
WATCH: Dave Aronberg explains what a hate crime enhancement entails
But he tells Hoffman that it is a difficult approach to make stick because it involves getting inside the head of a defendant. In this case, when it's a Baker Act defendant, it makes it even harder.
“It's very difficult,” said Aronberg. “Because a defense to a hate crime will be that the person is insane or has mental health issues, so the motivation wasn't prejudiced, but a lack of mental faculties, and so that is a challenge for prosecutors. But if the person said something outwardly that shows prejudice, then game on, then it's a proper charge.
"The difficulty is to establish what's in the defendant's mind," he said. "There are very few crimes that require prosecutors to go into the minds of defendants. You can't read minds, but you can try to extrapolate what that person is thinking through their words, through their writings, through their social media posts. And here, the individual allegedly made some racist comments and that can be used against him to enhance the crime into a more serious one as a hate crime."
Nurses show support for the victim
After such a terrible act, some local nurses are looking to come together in solidarity with the nurse who was attacked.
Hoffman spoke with Meghan Marks, a nurse and has worked in healthcare for almost 11 years now. She says that she and a group of friends were discussing how they can come together and show their support, and now they’re asking nurses and other health care workers to gather at Palms West Hospital for a peaceful gathering of prayer and support for their colleague.
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When Marks heard the news of the attack on a nurse at Palms West Hospital, it hit her hard.
“Being a nurse myself, it's something that really hit close to home,” said Marks. “I just immediately knew that I wanted to get involved.”
Marks works now as a nurse, and says it was heartbreaking to see. But unfortunately, having been in dangerous situations herself, it was not surprising.
“Early on in my career in healthcare, even before I became a nurse, I did find myself in a very dangerous situation, probably a handful of times, and it sticks with you,” said Marks.
So, she says she got into her group chat with fellow nurses and set a plan to have a peaceful gathering.
“I really want to put a lot of emphasis on we're wanting this to be a very peaceful gathering,” said Marks. “It's simply to just support and bring the community together and pray and love and care on one another. As a nurse, you take an oath that you're going to give compassionate care that does not leave the moment you walk out of your shift. And I think this is a really good moment for everyone to come together and show that.
She posted the invite to Facebook and hundreds have signaled their interest already. She tells me that the event is a reflection of the support throughout the healthcare community.
“[If] you work in healthcare, you know, come. We just really want to keep it with like blue and white scrubs as a sign of unity,” said Marks. “We want her, you know, when she does have the chance to know that she is so loved and so supported and that her nursing team is behind her.”
Marks says to check out this link to RSVP for the Sunday event and get all the details.
