Sydney man Stanley Bruce Early will likely die in jail after a judge sentenced him for the murder of a man bashed by a homophobic gang in 1987.
The NSW Supreme Court found Early, now 77, guilty of the murder of Raymond Keam at Allison Park, at the time a gay beat.
On Friday a judge jailed Early for 22 years with a non-parole period of 15 years and six months, AAP reported.
He’s not eligible for parole until age 91 in 2037, meaning he’ll likely die behind bars, the judge noted.
Early went by the name Stanley “Spider” Sutton in the 80s. The man was “ringleader” of a group that roamed the park assaulting men the attackers suspected were gay.
The court heard Early told others he wanted to “clear these gays and homosexuals out of the park”.
The court heard on January 13, 1987, the men confronted and violently attacked Raymond Keam. The man suffered multiple serious injuries to his face, mouth, and body.
NSW Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia said Early was the oldest member of the self-described “p___ter bashing” group.
She described the violent practice as “an affront to any civilised society”.
“I find as an aggravating factor that the offence was motivated by hatred or prejudice against homosexual males,” she said.
“The offender continues to deny his involvement in the murder. He has shown no remorse whatsoever.”
Convicted killer Stanley Early called ‘soulless monster’
Supreme Court Justice Yehia said she could not find beyond reasonable doubt Early struck the blow that killed Raymond Keam.
But she was satisfied he was part of the group, directly attacking him or encouraging others to cause grievous bodily harm.
“Although the offence was not planned, there was a degree of deliberation involved,” she said.
Last month, the court heard a victim impact statement from a person close to Raymond Keam.
They described Early as “a troubled person” who “not only murdered [Raymond] and got away with it for many years.”
“But also destroyed the lives of many other gay men for no reason. The soulless monster that murdered him was still out there living his life,” the person wrote.
“Because of you and your desire to ‘clean up’ Alison Park, you stripped the world of a loving father, partner, friend and mentor.”
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It’s important to add that Stanley Early appears to have experienced internalised homophobia, as well as trauma from being molested in a boys’ home and raped in prison. None of this justifies his behaviour, but it does show the devastating effects of gay hatred and discrimination, and of sexual assault.
DAMN and even now we have people like Ben Fordham demonising transfolk. When will society understand what they do?