Nine Convicted in Long Beach Hate-Crime Trial

In Long Beach, Calif., a juvenile court judge has convicted eight black girls and one boy of beating three young white women last year. One girl was acquitted of all charges. The defendants range between 12 and 18 years old. The racially charged case included allegations of witness intimidation.

The attack happened last Halloween in an upscale mostly white neighborhood filled with trick-or-treaters. Prosecutors called it a hate crime because they said the attackers hurled racial slurs at their victims.

Nine girls and one boy were charged with the attack. But their families say that the first call for help identified the attackers as a group of black males.

Melissa Block talks with NPR's Mandalit DelBarco.