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GLAAD |
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A preliminary hearing for those charged in the brutal July 18 murder of openly gay Bay Minette, Alabama., teen Scotty Joe Weaver is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, August 27 at the Baldwin County Courthouse in Bay Minette. Alabama District Judge Jody Bishop will also hear a request by one of the suspect's lawyers to have a gag order issued for the parties involved in the case.The body of the 18-year-old Weaver was found on July 22 not far from the home he shared with two of the three people suspected in his murder: Christopher Gaines, 20, and Nichole Kelsay, 18. They and Robert Porter, 18, were arrested on July 24 and charged with capital murder, according to the Associated Press and the Mobile [Alabama} Register. According to Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone, Weaver was robbed of less than $100, then beaten, strangled, stabbed, cut, partially decapitated and set on fire. Whetstone has said the brutal nature of the murder "is suggestive of overkill, which is not something you see in a regular robbery and murder," and that there is "not a doubt in my mind" that Weaver's sexual orientation played a part in his murder. Whetstone has indicated that he will introduce a significant amount of evidence surrounding Weaver's murder at the preliminary hearing. Scotty Joe Weaver's murder is one of a number of high-profile anti-gay hate crimes that have occurred in Alabama -- a state whose hate crimes law does not cover those targeted based on their sexual orientation, and thus where the capital murder charges in this case hinge on the fact that Weaver was both murdered and robbed. In 1999, 39-year-old Billy Jack Gaither of Sylacauga was beaten with an ax handle and his body burned atop kerosene-soaked tires in an anti-gay hate crime. And on July 28,2004, less than a week after Weaver's body was found in Bay Minette, 40-year-old Montgomery resident Roderick George was shot in the head and killed in an apparent hate crime. Anthony Johnson, the man arrested and charged with his murder, is claiming that he killed George because of an unwanted sexual advance. The vicious nature of Weaver's murder has sent shock waves through the quiet gay community in Baldwin County. "Scotty's murder serves as a stark reminder of the culture of intolerance that permeates many parts of our state," said Tony Thompson of Bay Area Inclusion, Mobile's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community center. "When you combine such pervasive homophobia with the anxiety that follows this kind of violent anti-gay hate crime, you create a climate in which gay people are made to feel vulnerable, exposed and afraid. That's why the district attorney's aggressive prosecution of this case is so encouraging, and why it gives a sense of hope to gay Alabamians watching the events unfold in Bay Minette." "Friday's preliminary hearing promises to shed more light on Scotty's murder," said GLAAD Southeastern Regional Media Manager Andrew Borchini, who will be traveling to Bay Minette for the hearing and to support the efforts of local community leaders. "So far the local media -- including the Mobile Register and the local Associated Press bureau -- have provided fair, accurate and inclusive coverage of this case. "Our hope is that as more details surrounding Scotty's death are released, media outlets will take the opportunity to report not only on the unfolding legal story, but also on the story of a young man whose life was cut short by hatred and violence -- and the impact his death has had on the local community." |
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