White woman who committed racist assault against black man avoids jail time despite tearful pleas from victim

A white woman who repeatedly struck a black man while calling him the N-word has been sentenced to two years of probation and no time in prison, despite pleas from her victim to impose a harsh sentence.

Click on Detroit reports that Kent County Circuit Judge Paul Sullivan ruled this week at a bench trial that defendant Shelly Hueckel should get two years of probation after being found guilty of assault and battery charges for her racist beating of Terrence Smith, a black car salesman.

Late last year, Sullivan ruled that Hueckel was not guilty of committing ethnic intimidation even though she allegedly called Smith the N-word multiple times and made references to his "black ass." Instead, the judge determined that she was only motivated to attack Smith by what she considered to be a subpar trade-in offer.

During the sentencing, Smith made an emotional plea to hold Hueckel accountable to the fullest extent of the law, which would have meant serving a maximum of 93 days in jail.

"I was... assaulted for no reason and called a (N-word) over and over again," Smith said. "At that point, it took every ounce of strength in me to restrain myself from defending myself, and I did it: I stood tall through an incredibly hard moment."