DEATH SHOWS UP QLD GOVERNMENT INACTION The acquittal of two men of murder as a result of gay panic defence has thrown into stark relief the failure of the Bligh Government to enact laws to rid Queensland of gay panic defence. John Patrick Peterson and his friend Seamus Matthew Smith had been charged over the death of Stephen John Ward, a 62 year old itinerant. The court heard that they had picked up Ward at a service station south of Maryborough in 2008. After a day’s drinking, Peterson claimed that Ward had made homosexual advances towards him, causing Peterson to “snap” and bash Ward 20 to 30 times, causing his death. Peterson and Smith then dumped Ward’s body in the Bauple State Forest, between Maryborough and Gympie. Peterson and Smith were unsure if Ward was alive or dead at the time of the dumping. Peterson was convicted by a jury of the lesser charge of manslaughter and Smith as an accessory. The timing of the case contrasts with the decision bythe Blgih government, announced by Attorney-General Paul Lucas, not to change the law to get rid of gay panic defence. Lucas did this in response to a petition signed by almost 5000 Queenslanders calling on the Government to get rid of the defence. Lucas said that the Government relied on advice of the Queensland Law reform Commission that to get rid of the defence might lead to “unintended consequences”. Gay panic defence is available as a defence to murder in Queensland. The defence relied upon is that of provocation, the defendant saying that he was provoked by a perceived homosexual advance that caused the defendant to lose control and kill the victim, which results in the defendant being convicted of manslaughter, not murder. Stephen Page is a partner of Harrington Family Lawyers 3221 9544 spage@harringtonfamilylawyers.com Stephen is the author of the Australian Gay and Lesbian Law Blog http://lgbtlawblog.blogspot.com .
The decision was made by Paul Lucas - the most bumbling, incompetent, moronic politician since Nixon. His reply to the recent petition was a snivelling diatribe of "pleasing the conservatives" with a small "we still love the gay community!" spiel at the end. Utterly vile; where is the people power? This man does not deserve to be allowed to "bow out" at the next election and get a pension. He deserves to be kicked out and shamed in public for his blatantly discriminatory and personally prejudiced stance on the gay panic defence.
You stupid baboon; I only hope you never have to go through what anyone who is denied their justice by this archaic and homophobic piece of legislation.
Letter to the Editor
Gay Panic? I am appalled that such an excusatory plea has been used to acquit these two men of the death of Stephen Ward. It seems lost upon the judiciary that the two men concerned ‘picked Ward up at a service station’ and that by doing so the underlying intention – a priori – has it’s own referential undertones that in reality cannot be so easily disregarded.
Gay Panic defence? Such an horrendous construction of anti-gay definition will, if not sent back to the DPP set a very dangerous precedent for gay and non-gay individuals alike – with provision for future exits by any person who commits murder and pleads ‘panic’.
Decades of Civil and Human Rights work is now at risk of being challenged by the acquittal of these two men on the discriminatory basis of gender.
I am appalled that innocence is again reviled and the guilty go free – laughing all the way to the bank. Surely, Paul, your position equates to fiduciary responsibility to the dead as well as the living.
I for one expect Government to call upon the Queensland Judiciary and Law Reform Commission to be accountable.
Far from leading to ‘unintended consequences’ gay panic defence will work in reverse and lead to ‘intended consequences’ but then isn’t that part of why this decision was handed down?
The decision is certainly not in the interest of the victim - or future victims - who is depicted as being worthless because he was an ‘itinerant’.
There is no excuse for the absence of ethics, discrimination or murder. This handing down of this discriminatory decision throws Queensland politics and law back forty years. This will tell at the polls.
Karen
So if I go out drinking with a few of my lesbian friends and a random male at a club decides to makes a sexual advancement towards me ... I "panic" and instead of kissing him back I bash him repetatively in the head with an iron bar until he is no longer breathing, able to draw air through his lungs and has no brain function due to mass trauma to the skull .... can my defence to murder be "straight panic"? Because if this was the case there would be a huge amount of lesbians killing straight men who think its their right to "turn a lesbian straight".
Lets get real Queensland and Australia. Anna Bligh - for once in your life would you lead by example instead of following peoples decisions based on who yells the loudest and which church or business won't fund your next political venture.
Gays and lesbians are humans - we should have equal rights, laws and ultimately be free to live within our community peacefully and without fear. Our government should support us - as they do other individuals in this country - with law, financial assistance (where approriate), parenting rights and protective help.
Clearly allowing strangers to bash us to death and dump our bodies in bush lands - then cry out in a court system that it was done because someone made gay advances towards them doesn't come close to protecting individuals safely in this community. WHY?
It is a good thing the wider gay and lesbian community is more intelligent, respectful, controlled, educated and accepting of human nature so that these cases are only found in the straight world and we don't have lesbian and gays running around taking offence and bashing to death every straight person who decides to 'convert' a gay.
GET REAL QUEENSLAND !!
Your Pathetic!! To make such a careless generalisation on a case you obviously did no research into, who are you to make judgements on people you know nothing about? It sounds like the pot calling the kettle black don't you think?
Gays and lesbians should have the same rights as everyone else, your sexual preference should not mean you have the right to be discriminated against and if you believe this too than you in turn should not discriminate, especially when your mouthing off over something you read about in the newspaper (did you even read about it because none of what you have said makes any sense), media unfortunately has a bad tendancy to tell outright lies and spice up the truth to create sensational headlines so they will sell copies or make a name for the writer.
Coming from a person who is part of a minority that is discriminated against, you of all people should be aware of this! Do you honestly believe there are no gays in prison who have commited a serious or for that matter violent offence? Maybe you should question your own sexuality because you quite obviously don't fit into your own summary of what the gay community is like. Intelligent, respectful, controlled, educated and accepting of human nature, your comment showed none of these qualities!!
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