Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 9th, 2007
Last week, we told you about Christopher Gaines, who pleaded guilty to the grisly murder of Scotty Joe Weaver. On July 22, 2004, the 18-year-old’s burned body was found at the side of a rural Alabama road. He had been beaten, strangled, cut, burned and robbed of between $65 and $80.
Today, the judge in the case sentenced Gaines to life in prison without the possibility of parole. By pleading guilty, Gaines was able to avoid the death penalty. Gaines’ girlfriend Nichole Bryars Kelsay, and Robert Porter have pleaded not guilty. Their trials are set for September.
Because Alabama law requires that a jury must hear evidence for capital murder cases — even when the defendant pleads guilty — several new details came out in Gaines’ trial. On July 18, 2004, Gaines, Kelsay, and Porter plotted Weaver’s death because Gaines and Kelsay thought that Weaver was interfering in their relationship. Weaver had let Gaines and Kelsay stay with him in his home for a while. Porter simply didn’t like Weaver because of his sexuality. So that evening, Porter and Gaines snuck up on Weaver as he slept. Weaver woke briefly and begged Gaines to stop as Gaines wrapped a rope around his neck while Porter held Weaver’s feet. Weaver struggled to get away, but was overpowered.
After Weaver died, Gaines, Porter and Kelsay drove around town, stopping in at Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen and Arby’s. They even stopped into Kelsay’s mother’s house and played cards for a while before returning to Weaver’s trailer where his body still lay.
Gaines and Porter wrapped Weaver’s body in a blanket and loaded it into the trunk of a car. They stopped at a service station and filled a 3-liter bottle with gasoline before driving out to a lonely stretch of road. There, they laid Weaver face up on the blanket, poured gasoline on his body, urinated on him, then set his body on fire.
Scotty Joe Weaver’s body was found four days later.
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John
May 10th, 2007
This is one good example of why I support the death penalty.
Benton Quest
May 11th, 2007
What I find especially troubling is the total disregard for the humanity of Weaver. As if it was not bad enough to kill the man, to urinate on him before burning him is a act that leaves me speechless.
How sad that we live in a “tolerant” society that could produce people who do not see GLBT folks human but as some monster to be demeaned and destroyed.
Steve Schalchlin
May 12th, 2007
Horrible. I linked to this story on my blog because these stories must be told, no matter how horrible. BTW, thank you for blogging about my experience with the John Lennon IMAGINE Piano Peace Project. It went beautifully and I just posted my thoughts on the whole event.
PJ
August 3rd, 2007
I knew nothing about this poor young man until today after watching “Small Town Gay Bar”. I am horrified that in this day and age there is still an overwhelming abundence of stupid ignorant people who think that God hates you if your gay. If God felt that way he would not have created you. These are stupid white people who are raised or unraised by stupid ignorant parents that teach them nothing but hate if they don’t believe what they believe. Scotty and the rest of the silent victims deserved nothing but to live their lives. My heart goes out to all of them and their families for their loses knowing words cannot speak for the pain they have gone through, I can only hope that these stupid inaine ignorant children never see the light of day again and that their parents live everyday knowing that because of their lack of participating in their child’s lives, they have created modern day monsters. Thou Shalt not Kill for thy will truley burn in Hell.
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