Sean W. Kennedy

Sean W. Kennedy (April 8, 1987, Charleston, SC – May 16, 2007, Greenville, SC) was a gay 20-year old man who was punched and subsequently died as he was leaving a bar.cite web
last = Smith
first = Gordon
title = Speech on The Matthew Shepard Act
publisher = Congressional Record
date = 2007-05-22
url = http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-s20070522-21
accessdate = 2007-06-14 ] cite web
last = Anderson
first = Claire
title = Family of dead man lobbies for hate-crime bill
publisher = The Greenville News
date = 2007-06-03
url = http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/NEWS01/706030315
accessdate = 2007-06-15 ] cite web
title = Who Was Sean William Kennedy?
url = http://www.seanslastwish.com/
publisher = Sean's Last Wish Foundation
accessdate = 2007-06-15 ]

Death

Kennedy was punched in the face as he was leaving a bar in Greenville County, South Carolina. He fell to the ground and injured his head. He later died of his injuries. Stephen Andrew Moller, (age 18) was charged with Kennedy's murder. The warrant stated that the act was "a result of the defendant (Moller) not liking the sexual identity of the victim."

Hate Crimes Legislation

Kennedy was mentioned by Senator Gordon Smith in a speech on the floor of the US Senate advocating for hate crimes legislation. The case was turned over for investigation by the Greenville County Sheriff to the FBI for investigation as a hate crime, but the state of South Carolina does not currently have hate crime legislation. [cite web
title = Statewide Hate Crimes Laws
publisher = Human Rights Campaign
date = May 2005
url = http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Your_Community&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=19445
accessdate = 2007-06-14 ] and federal hate-crimes legislation does not include sexual orientation.

Pre-Trial

In October 2007, The Greenville County Solicitors Office announced that Moller's murder charge was going to be reduced to involuntary manslaughter, since there was no malicious intent by the accused.

In November 2007, Stephen Andrew Moller was released to home detention upon paying a $25,000 bond. He is required to stay with his mother until his trial. The charge of murder was reduced to manslaughter not only because there was no conscious premeditated desire to kill Kennedy, but also because there is no middle step in South Carolina law between murder and manslaughter. Unable to secure a conviction for murder, the trial lawyers opted for manslaughter in order to get the violent activity onto Moller's record. The sentence carries a 0-5 years prison term, and it is likely that Moller will be released for time served.

entencing

On June 11th 2007, Stephen Andrew Moeller, appeared at a plea hearing -no jury trial- where he received a five year sentence, suspended to three years, and he got credit for the time he served before he was released on bond - 199 days. In summary this means he will only have to serve an additional 10 months in prison, and then he will be eligible for parole. If he gets that he will be on probation for 3 years. He was also ordered to take anger management classes, 30 day community service and to have regular alcohol/drug testing and counseling.

Legacy

The organization Sean's Last Wish was organized and started by Sean's mother Elke Kennedy and can be found at http://www.seanslastwish.orgThe mission of Sean's Last Wish is to empower the community.Through educational diviersity programsThrough non-violent conflict resolutionand Through community involement.

References

ee also

* Hate crime laws in the United States