Court rejects appeal by Ohio Amish in beard-cutting attacks

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A federal court in Ohio has rejected a bid to overturn new sentences and remaining charges against members of a breakaway Amish group accused in hair- and beard-cutting attacks.

Fifteen of 16 defendants charged in 2011 appealed again after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out hate-crime convictions. A lower court had reduced sentences for those still facing prison time, principally for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Leader Samuel Mullet Sr.’s 15-year sentence was reduced by nearly four years.

Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the three-judge panel that defendants raised issues they could have raised earlier and that their new sentences were “substantively reasonable.”

Defense attorney Edward Bryan says he plans to seek a rehearing before the full court.

Hair and beards have spiritual significance in the Amish faith.