Sentences reduced for Amish in beard-cutting attacks

CLEVELAND — The sentences for an Amish cult leader and seven of his followers were reduced Monday in a case involving beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow members of their faith.

The resentencing for leader Samuel Mullet Sr. and his followers came after an appeals court overturned their sentencing last year.

The 10 men and six women, who were sentenced Feb. 8, 2013, in federal court in Cleveland, had appealed their convictions. The five cutting attacks on a total of nine victims took place between September and November 2011.

The defendants — all part of Mullet's extended family — had challenged the constitutionality of the federal hate-crimes act as overly broad, a claim rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster in 2012 before the trials began.

On Monday, Mullet's 15-year sentence was reduced to 10 years and nine months. The sentences for four men who initially received seven years was cut to five years. Sentences for three men who received five years were lowered to three years, seven months.

The remaining eight members — including six women — were resentenced to time already served.

The focus of the 2012 trial centered on Mullet, leader of a breakaway Amish sect in Bergholz, Ohio, where about 20 Amish families live on his 880-acre farm. The community is about 100 miles southeast of Cleveland near the West Virginia border.

Amish men believe the Bible instructs women to let their hair grow long and men to grow beards and stop shaving once they marry. Cutting an Amish man's beard or a woman's hair is considered a grave insult, as the hair and beard are considered religious symbols of Amish commitment to their religion and lifestyle.

In an October 2011 interview before he was charged, Mullet admitted he knew about the attacks but denied he had anything to do with them.

In addition to conspiracy, Mullet was convicted on six other charges, including lying to the FBI.

Defense attorneys had conceded the hair cuttings took place but argued that the government was overreaching by calling what happened hate crimes. They argued the cuttings were merely personal family disputes, so-called "family feuds."

On Monday, prosecutors argued that the original sentences should have remained intact because of the defendant's religious motivation and because the sentences were lower than what federal guidelines allowed.

Mullet did not directly participate in any of the attacks, but prosecutors accused him of exercising tight control over members of his community and helping hide evidence.

Defense attorneys had argued for the defendants to be released, saying Mullet is not likely to get into trouble again.

"A stigma will forever be attached to this community," his attorneys said.

Contributing: The Associated Press