The Rev. Jesse Jackson has condemned the beating of motorist Steve Utash, which happened in Detroit this month when the man stopped his pickup truck to check on a child who had run into traffic and been hit by the truck, according to the Detroit News.
Jackson told the News that those involved in the April 2 attack were likely driven by “hatred,” “alienation” and “desperation.”
Additionally, Deborah Hughes, the retired nurse who stopped the beating, told the News that she is looking forward to meeting the victim, who is reportedly doing well, sitting up in his hospital bed and talking to relatives.
During a telephone interview Monday with the Detroit News, Jackson said he did not weigh in on the beating earlier because he was in Japan when the attack occurred.
The civil rights leader had been criticized on social media for not responding sooner, allegedly because the victim was white and those charged so far with his assault have been black, the News reports.
“Sin is deeper than skin,” Jackson told the News in response to a question about a possible motivation for the attack. “We’ve become so jilted by race, we make a distinction we shouldn’t make. It was wrong to beat that guy. It was right for [Hughes] to use her strength to save him. It’s just like the Good Samaritan story in the Bible; it’s the classic case of being your brother’s keeper. She needs to be highly honored.”
Read more at the Detroit News.