Mourners gathered on the steps of the S.C. Capitol on July 1, 2007, for
a vigil marking the death of Sean Kennedy, who was killed by one punch
from a man who later bragged about ‘knocking out’ a ‘faggot.’ (Photo by
Gerry Melendez/The State/AP)
Three-year sentence in killing of S.C. gay man angers family, activists Ga. faces similar scenario without state or federal hate crime law
As
Elke
Kennedy
continues
to
cry
for
her
lost
son,
she
feels
the
state
of
South
Carolina
laughing
in
her
face.
Sean
Kennedy,
a
20-year-old
gay
man,
died
in
May
2007
after
being
brutally
attacked
in
the
streets
of
Greenville,
S.C.
“Our
judicial
system
is
a
joke,
and
it
is
trying
to
make
you
believe
that
it
is
there
to
assure
justice,”
Elke
Kennedy
said
after
her
son’s
killer,
Stephen
Moller,
was
sentenced
last
week
to
three
years
in
prison.
Because
a
South
Carolina
grand
jury
indicted
Moller
on
involuntary
manslaughter
charges
instead
of
murder,
the
maximum
sentence
Moller
faced
was
five
years
in
jail.
A
murder
sentence
in
South
Carolina
carries
a
mandatory
minimum
sentence
of
30
years.
“There
was
no
justice
for
my
son,
Sean,”
Elke
Kennedy
said.
“The
sentence
that
Stephen
Moller
received
is
a
joke
and
a
slap
on
the
wrist.”
As
part
of
a
plea
agreement
on
June
11,
South
Carolina
Judge
Ned
Miller
gave
Moller
a
suspended
sentence
of
three
years
in
jail
and
three
years
of
probation.
Miller
also
gave
Moller
credit
for
seven
months
he
has
already
served
in
prison
following
Kennedy’s
death,
making
Moller
eligible
for
parole
as
early
as
2009.
“The
easy
thing
to
do
would
be
to
give
him
five
years
and
move
on,”
Miller
said,
according
to
the
Greenville
News.
Instead,
Miller
said
he
wanted
to
offer
Moller,
18
at
the
time
of
the
attack,
a
chance
to
be
rehabilitated.
Mark
Moyer,
the
Greenville
assistant
solicitor
who
prosecuted
Moller,
characterized
the
judge’s
sentence
as
“pretty
much
the
maximum”
available
for
Moller.
“That
was
as
strong
a
sentence
as
could
be
given
under
the
circumstances,”
said
Moyer.
“We
acknowledge
that
the
decision
was
reflective
of
South
Carolina
law.”
But
when
South
Carolina
law
allows
an
admitted
killer
—
who
bragged
about
beating
up
a
“fucking
faggot”
minutes
after
the
attack
—
to
walk
free
after
just
three
years
in
prison,
federal
intervention
is
appropriate,
said
Cristina
Finch,
senior
counsel
for
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
a
national
gay
political
group.
“It’s
a
perfect
example
of
why
we
need
a
federal
hate
crimes
law”
that
includes
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity,
Finch
said.
“I
think
[South
Carolina
prosecutors]
were
just
constrained
by
the
legal
tools
they
had
to
work
with,”
Finch
said.
“The
circumstances
of
the
case
didn’t
lend
themselves
to
a
hate
crime
charge,
especially
since
there
is
no
state
hate
crime
law
to
even
charge
under.”
‘YOUR BOY IS
KNOCKED
OUT’
South
Carolina
is
one
of
18
states,
including
Georgia,
which
does
not
have
a
hate
crimes
law
that
specifically
includes
sexual
orientation.
Elke
Kennedy
believes
her
son
was
not
only
targeted
because
of
his
sexual
orientation,
but
that
it
was
also
a
factor
in
how
Sean’s
death
was
investigated
and
prosecuted.
“I
believe
if
Sean
wasn’t
gay,
it
would’ve
been
different,”
Kennedy
said.
“In
fact,
I
believe
that
Sean’s
case
has
been
mishandled
from
the
beginning.
…
Sheriff’s
deputies
did
not
take
it
seriously.”
According
to
court
records,
Sean
Kennedy
was
leaving
a
Greenville
bar
on
May
16,
2007,
when
he
ran
into
some
female
friends
who
were
talking
with
Moller
and
other
young
men
in
a
car.
Kennedy
allegedly
distracted
the
young
women
from
talking
to
Moller,
who
also
alleged
that
Kennedy
accidentally
burned
his
face
with
a
cigarette.
Moller
exited
the
car
and
delivered
a
single
blow
to
Kennedy’s
face,
knocking
him
to
the
ground
and
causing
Kennedy’s
brain
to
separate
from
his
brain
stem
and
ricochet
inside
his
head.
After
fleeing
the
crime
scene
by
car,
Moller
placed
a
drunken
call
to
one
of
the
women
who
witnessed
the
attack.
“Hey,
I
was
just
wondering
how
your
boyfriend’s
feeling
right
about
now
[laughter],”
Moller
said,
according
to
a
transcript
of
the
call
that
was
read
during
Moller’s
sentencing.
“The
fucking
faggot
…
Yea
boy,
your
boy
is
knocked
out,
man.
The
motherfucker.
Tell
him
he
owes
me
$500
for
breaking
my
goddamn
hand
on
his
teeth,
that
fucking
bitch.”
The
Greenville
Solicitor’s
office
looked
into
whether
Moller
attacked
Sean
because
he
was
gay,
“even
though
motive
isn’t
an
element”
in
prosecuting
a
crime,
Moyer
said.
“We
know
he
used
some
ugly
language
in
a
telephone
call
right
after,
and
from
that
standpoint
it
might
give
some
people
reason
to
believe
there
was
an
underlying
motive
to
what
he
did,”
said
Moyer,
who
added
...
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
D21howie on 6/20/086:08 PM:
The sentence is a damn *?&@!in' joke. I agree with the mother 100%. South Carolina government needs to get off of their fuckin' asses and put a hate crimes legislation into place for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender.
