WEST VIRGINIA: Man Acquitted For Spitting On Westboro's Shirley Phelps

On Friday a West Virginia jury refused to convict a man for spitting tobacco juice on Westboro Baptist Church leader Shirley Phelps-Roper. Westboro was in West Virginia last year to "celebrate" the deaths of miners killed in a cave-in.

An officer assigned to patrol the event witnessed Spade spitting and arrested him. The officer testified he saw Spade spit on the woman's chest. Spade told jurors he spit on her sign which she was holding above her shoulders. Charleston Police Sgt. Nick Null testified as he was leading Spade away, the victim Shirley Phelps-Roper said, "I'm glad you pigs finally did something." Phelps-Roper is the daughter of the church's controversial pastor Fred Phelps. The jury ruled in the case that Spade committed no crime when he spit on the woman, under the highly charged circumstances. The jury returned its not-guilty verdict in less than an hour.