Murder charges reduced in hate crime against gay near Bob Jones University.

[DemoTex]

The mother of a man authorities allege was fatally assaulted because of his "sexual identity" said Wednesday she has learned that the teen accused in the attack will face an involuntary manslaughter charge, not murder.

"I’m outraged, but not surprised," said Elke Kennedy, whose son Sean, authorities say, was punched outside a bar on Pelham Road. "It’s as if my son has been murdered again. There’s no justice for Sean. As his mother, I want justice." <snip

Elke Kennedy, who said her son was openly gay, has held rallies to lobby for a hate crime charge, though there are no hate-crime laws that exist that apply to someone’s sexual identity. <snip

The attack happened at about 3:45 a.m. A witness told deputies that a man stepped out of a silver car and punched the victim once in the face and left, according to an incident report. (more at link)

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS01/310180001

There are no hate crime laws in the Christian Republic of South Carolina. Jesus's precious flock dictates that no hate crime laws are needed.

But there is no justice either. If there were, Stephen Andrew Moller, 19, of 705 Pine Croft Drive (name, age, and address included in above article), would still be facing murder charges in the May 16 death of the 20-year-old Kennedy. Instead, Moller faces only involuntary manslaughter charges for attacking and killing Sean Kennedy.

Shades of the Matthew Shepard case: like Matthew Shepard (killed October 7, 1998, near Laramie, Wyoming), Sean Kennedy died from severe head injuries inflicted by homophobic assailant/assailants. Unlike the Matthew Shepard case, however, Sean Kennedy's attacker will probably never do a day of time for his crime.

[acmavm]

1. Absolutely no surprise in this. None.

What a horrid miscarriage of justice. This was an intentional act carried out with wanton disregard as to the outcome.

This shit makes me furious.

edit: To add that this also makes a mockery of the law.

[marmar]

2. In other words, his life wasn't worth as much because of who he was....

Absolutely disgusting..... And if you read the reader comments at the end of the story, there's somebody with the usual carp about hate crimes laws violating the 1st amendment.:mad:
This should frighten everyone with a conscience, and spur some action.

[Sneaky Sailor]

3. SO is there evidence he was attacked

Because he was gay, or is it possible he just said something to piss the guy off. I think that more reserch is needed.

[marmar]

4. ......

The attack happened at about 3:45 a.m. A witness told deputies that a man stepped out of a silver car and punched the victim once in the face and left, according to an incident report.

Authorities say the attacker uttered slurs regarding the victim’s sexual orientation. Authorities believe Kennedy fell down and struck the back of his head on the pavement. Deputies found Kennedy bleeding and unresponsive when they arrived on the scene, the report said.


What did he have to do, spraypaint "faggot" on his dead body? It seems pretty obvious what motivated this.

[Richard Steele]

7. Try READING the story before you start challenging it.

nm

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sneaky Sailor]

8. I could not load the full story

Therefore I did not see that section,

sorry, my mistake...dick

[FredScuttle]

5. 29 years next month

It will be 29 years since Harvey Milk was shot to death in San Francisco City Hall and more than 28 years since his assassin, Dan White, escaped a first-degree murder charge. He was found guilty, instead, of voluntary manslaughter and given 7 years....7 years for premeditating, planning and executing the Mayor and a member of the Board of Supervisors. Because Harvey Milk was gay, the jury presumed his life wasn't worth as much as the straight Mayor's. A verdict that still continues to outrage...

[northernsoul]

6. This stinks to high heaven

But bear in mind that prosecutors frequently have to reduce charges on even heinous crimes due to the quality of the evidence. I'm not saying that's what's going on here, but it's a possible factor.

[Sneaky Sailor]

9. This is what I imagine could have happened

My wife (a PD) sees no other reason to do this.