California man sentenced to life for hate-crime murder of teenager

A man in California who was convicted of the hate-crime murder of a gay, Jewish university student has been sentenced to life in prison.

Samuel Woodward was convicted of first-degree murder in July for the 2018 murder of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, who Woodward apparently stabbed more than 28 times in the face and neck.

Woodward’s lawyer pleaded for a lesser sentence of just 28 years to life, citing the fact that the jurors were not permitted to see all evidence during the trial.

But the judge went ahead in giving Woodward the maximum sentence, without the possibility of parole, as there is currently a moratorium on the death penalty in California.

At the sentencing hearing, Bernstein’s mother Jeanne Pepper said: “Let’s be clear. This was a hate crime. Samuel

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