The deceased in better times
Justice served indeed. Each small victory is a way to begin to right size the longstanding issue of poor results for cases involving LGBT people as victims. Although the court systems are still creaking if only we stick and stay sensible results can come forth.
Two men were sentenced to life for the murder of a gay man after a chopping incident in Torrington Park from way back in August 2011 of Ricardo Morgan; the jury retired for 21 minutes after a two week trial and returned a unanimous guilty verdict. The deceased was a hairdresser after he was attacked by two men on the day of the incident earlier that year around 9pm the two men Shermar Salmon and Richard Lindo, evidence led by the prosecution as informed by the sole witness and the sister of the deceased stated that Salmon used a machete to chop the deceased on the left side of his neck causing severe bleeding, they say that after the hair dresser fell to the ground Lindo attacked him with a pick-axe stick inflicting several blows to the head where in the deceased succumbed to his injuries after.
The original CVM story
Other incidents from previous reports occurred as early as January of that year 2011 and at the deceased shop he was the subject of a man who arrived to point him out to other men as to the location and perceived sexual orientation of him as well; he reported the matter to some LGBT influentials at the time; the short lived melee had a captive audience but some persons dismissed the matter and suggested he was not a trouble maker and was earning his living honestly and that the pointing out exercise would only exacerbate matters and put the hair dresser at risk.
Residents in the area at the time had suggested more than once that the deceased was a target of verbal abuse from the two men in the area and was even urged several time to relocate but he refused. Here is another case of evasive action not being employed as the sensible option to avert challenges. This matter thankfully has ended amicably in a sense as the implicated perpetrators were not only nabbed as is not often the case in other such open attacks but tried and sentenced; with a sensible jury pool who saw the case for exactly what it is, a vicious murder with strong stigma as the motive.
Gay panic defence strategy attempted and failed
Attorneys representing the perpetrators posited that it was the deceased who provoked the situation as is often used in the deceptive gay panic defence, they claimed it was the deceased who was the aggressor on the night in question and tried to paint a picture of self defence which is an almost impossibility. Bearing in mind both men were armed with weapons against one unarmed man. I am pleased this one turned out the way it did as so many other cases have fizzled in court or the accused be it murder, extortion or common assault had the accused freed in court due to want of prosecution.
Torrington Park had featured before in similar problems and in Jones Town as well as far back June 21, 2012 in the height of our homeless population challenges police were called in to sort out a matter involving some gay men in the depressed community; I had carried the story on sister blog GLBTQ Jamaica here: SGL community members attacked in Kingston .......... some of whom were displaced and were being temporarily assisted by their friends from the area. The typical profiling of persons on either gender non conformity and so on raised its ugly head and a crowd had gathered at the gate of the house.
Residents in the area at the time had suggested more than once that the deceased was a target of verbal abuse from the two men in the area and was even urged several time to relocate but he refused. Here is another case of evasive action not being employed as the sensible option to avert challenges. This matter thankfully has ended amicably in a sense as the implicated perpetrators were not only nabbed as is not often the case in other such open attacks but tried and sentenced; with a sensible jury pool who saw the case for exactly what it is, a vicious murder with strong stigma as the motive.
Gay panic defence strategy attempted and failed
Attorneys representing the perpetrators posited that it was the deceased who provoked the situation as is often used in the deceptive gay panic defence, they claimed it was the deceased who was the aggressor on the night in question and tried to paint a picture of self defence which is an almost impossibility. Bearing in mind both men were armed with weapons against one unarmed man. I am pleased this one turned out the way it did as so many other cases have fizzled in court or the accused be it murder, extortion or common assault had the accused freed in court due to want of prosecution.
I wish for example the UTECH student abuse matter was resolved amicably if only the implicated man who was attacked on video followed up by going to court despite the slowness of our justice/court systems and that the guards were only charged for assault. Every victory is a win if ever so small to change hearts and minds and to make would be perpetrators think twice as to the consequences of such actions.
Peace & tolerance
H
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