A 57-year-old Indiana woman, Billie Davis, has been handed a six-year federal prison sentence, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for a racially motivated attack on an 18-year-old Indiana University student. Davis admitted to stabbing the student, who is of Chinese descent, multiple times in the head with a folding knife while the victim was on a public bus en route to school.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Davis pleaded guilty in September to willfully causing bodily injury to the victim due to her racial background. The incident occurred on January 11, 2023, when the student was preparing to disembark from the bus. The victim managed to exit the bus, crying out in pain, while Davis remained seated until confronted by other passengers.
Davis was apprehended after a witness followed her from the scene and informed the police of her location. The victim sustained severe injuries that required medical intervention, including sutures and staples. During her time in police custody, Davis made derogatory remarks about the victim’s ethnicity, stating that her motivation for the attack was the victim’s Chinese heritage.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division condemned the attack in a press release. She emphasized that racially motivated violence is unacceptable and that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to others. The Justice Department, she said, remains committed to investigating and prosecuting hate crimes across the country.
James Wimbush, the vice president for diversity, equity, and multicultural affairs at Indiana University, expressed his sorrow over the incident, stating that it served as a painful reminder of the reality of anti-Asian hate. He affirmed the university’s commitment to diversity and its support for the Asian and Asian American community.
In response to the attack, the university’s Asian Culture Center held an emergency meeting. Students voiced their concerns about their safety and shared experiences of racial discrimination. The center issued a statement emphasizing the need for safety on public transportation and expressing solidarity with the Asian community.
Davis was initially charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, and battery by means of a deadly weapon at the state level, but these charges were dismissed as she faced the federal hate crime charge. Davis’s son has stated that his mother suffers from severe mental illness, a factor he believes contributed to her actions.