Scotty Joe Weaver (March 26, 1986 – July 18, 2004) was an 18-year-old murder victim from

Bay Minette, Alabama Bay Minette is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,107. History In the first days of Baldwin County, the town of McIntosh Bluff (now in Mobile Cou ...

, whose burned and partially decomposed body was discovered on July 22, 2004, approximately eight miles from the mobile home in which he lived. He had been beaten, strangled and stabbed numerous times, and his body doused in gasoline and set on fire. It was one of only two murders in which the victim's sexual orientation was part of the motive reported in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the period from February 1999 – when

Billy Jack Gaither The murder of Billy Jack Gaither took place in Alabama on February 19, 1999. Two acquaintances, Steven Eric Mullins and Charles Monroe Butler, beat Gaither to death, slashed his throat, and burned his body. Both admitted that they murdered Gaith ...

was kidnapped, beaten to death, and then the body set on fire – and July 22, 2004. The Baldwin County

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, David Whetstone, stated that Weaver's sexual orientation was a factor in the crime. Whetstone commented on the brutality involved, stating that he believed the murder was premeditated and pointing out that Weaver did not die immediately and that his three assailants had time to stop. Alabama's

hate crime Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...

s statute does not apply to people targeted because of their sexual orientation. Three people were charged with capital murder and robbery in connection with the crime, two of whom were Weaver's roommates: Christopher Gaines, aged 20, Nichole Kelsay, aged 18, and Robert Porter, aged 18. Nichole Kelsay had been Weaver's friend throughout most of his life.

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

Judge J. Langford Floyd ruled at a hearing in 2005 that the three would be tried as adults; Alabama law at the time stated that anyone under the age of 21 on trial for a crime could ask to be considered a "

youthful offender Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

". In March 2006, Floyd ruled in favor of

Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...

Jim Vollmer's request for separate trials for the defendants. On April 30, 2007, Christopher Gaines pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He's currently serving a life sentence at the

Limestone Correctional Facility Limestone Correctional Facility is an Alabama Department of Corrections state prison for men located in Harvest, Limestone County, Alabama. Opened in October 1984 and with a capacity of 2086 prisoners, Limestone is the largest prison in the Alab ...

. Porter pleaded guilty to murder and first degree robbery in September 2007, received two consecutive life sentences, and was currently serving his sentence at the

Ventress Correctional Facility Ventress Correctional Facility is an Alabama Department of Corrections state prison for men located in Clayton, Barbour County, Alabama Barbour County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 cens ...

. Kelsay pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder, with parole eligibility after six years. In October 2004, the

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptists, Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group and a cult, and is known for Prot ...

held an anti-gay "celebration" of Weaver's murder, as well as that of Roderick George, a gay man from

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

. A peaceful protest rally was organized by

Equality Alabama Equality Alabama (EA) was a statewide non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBTQ people in Alabama. Background Equality Alabama was formed by the 2002 merger of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Alabama and Equalit ...

on October 16, 2004. This crime was featured in '' Small Town Gay Bar'', a 2006

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

depicting the difficulties of being gay in the rural South.

References

External links

Memorial to Scott Weaver at stophate.us
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Scotty Joe 2004 in Alabama 2004 in LGBTQ history 2004 murders in the United States American murder victims Deaths by beating in the United States Deaths by stabbing in the United States Deaths by strangulation in the United States July 2004 crimes in the United States LGBTQ history in Alabama People from Bay Minette, Alabama People murdered in Alabama Violence against gay men in the United States Violence against men in the United States