Justice, my ass. . .!

[kevinbgoode]

I was first alerted to this travesty of justice on Pams'Houseblend, a LGBT-oriented blog which reported on the case of a young adult man who murdered a man 40 years older, took his credit cards and went on a spending spree, and got a "manslaughter" conviction cuz he claimed the old man made sexual advances. It's the same old story. Claim you are a Southern Baptist and the thought of any imagined or real "homosexual" advance justifies murder cuz the goddamned "fag*ot" deserved it for allegedly violating the virginal sanctity of the golden peepee-possessing straight male.

Worse, the jury-of-peers asked for ACQUITTAL information shortly before reachin a verdict. Another testimony of special rights for conservative straight men who select religious beliefs who obsess about the imagined sexual relationships of others and then are permitted to project those imaginations when committing a crime. Justice my ass.

"Scarborough said Manious, stripped down to his underwear, put his arm around him, tried to kiss Scarborough and grabbed at him.

He also said that Manious asked for Robinson repeatedly, but maintained that Robinson had nothing to do with the crime that followed.

Scarborough said he was freaked out by the advances of the man, hit him with a bat and dragged his body down a flight of stairs. He said he put the man in the trunk of his own Toyota and left the victim to die in the car parked on Ottawa Avenue NW.

"My intentions were not to kill him," Scarborough said. "It wasn't me that did that. That wasn't me in my right mind."

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/scarborough_admits_in_taped_po.html

Brinkman said medical experts will testify that if Manious had received treatment for his wounds right away, he could have survived rather than dying in the trunk of the car dressed only in his underwear.

Brinkman says that while Manious' body remained undiscovered for days, Scarborough used his cell phone and credit cars to pay for shopping sprees, gas and a plane ticket to Texas, where Scarborough was eventually arrested by police.

But defense attorney Paul Denenfeld says Scarborough -- a simple boy from Tennessee -- was the dupe of his Grand Rapids-based friend Justin Robinson, who is bisexual and who had sex with Manious at his apartment previously.

Denenfeld said Manious walked into the apartment while Scarborough was there alone and knocked Scarborough out.

Scarborough came to, found Manious sexually assaulting him and hit him with a baseball bat to defend himself, Denenfeld said. He said that Robinson then helped Scarborough hide the body and talked his friend into keeping his own name out of it when Scarborough talked to police.

Robinson testified against Scarborough during a probable cause hearing, saying he saw Scarborough using credit cards that were not his own to buy clothes at RiverTown Crossings mall, gas on a day trip and food. During that earlier testimony, he said he saw the name "Victor" on the card and, after finding out about the discovery of Manious' body, called police.

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/03/opening_statements_in_steven_s.html

And then, the verdict:

A Tennessee native was found guilty today of voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of Victor Manious, a Gaines Township man whose body was found in the trunk of his own vehicle, parked on a downtown street.

Steven Scarborough, 22, was accused of luring 62-year-old Victor Manious to a friend's apartment to rob him. The prosecution said he then struck Manious in the head with a blunt force object before dragging him down stairs to Manious' car, stuffing the victim in the trunk.

Scarborough testified in his own defense, saying he was knocked out by Manious when the victim arrived at his friend's apartment. He woke to find Manious sexually assaulting him, he testified, so he hit the older man over the head with a baseball bat.

Scarborough had been charged with felony murder and faced mandatory life in prison without parole. Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

About two hours earlier before the verdict was reached, jurors had asked for information regarding acquittal. Even so, Denenfeld said he tried to lower expectations for Scarborough's family, not raise them, because it's always risky to read into what jurors might be thinking.


http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/verdict_in_steven_scarborough.html

Why is it that only conservative straight men get away with this bullshit?

[kevinbgoode]

1. I am not letting go of this. . .

kick

[gratuitous]

2. Am I reading this wrong?

It appears that Manious was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. The DA wanted to get him for felony murder, but still got a conviction, and Manious is going to go away for up to 15 years. That doesn't sound like "getting away" with anything.

As for Manious' defense, I have nothing to say except that everyone accused of a crime should have access to every means at his or her disposal to win acquittal. Apparently Manious or his attorney gauged that a "gay panic" defense would play well with this particular jury. As for the jury's acquittal inquiry, it's impossible to tell from the facts given just what that inquiry was about, or what the context of deliberations was at that time.

Considering that this defense has actually worked in the past and appears to be working less and less well, even in conservative western Michigan, perhaps this wretched chapter in our country's shame is at last drawing to a close.