Hate Crime Murderer Gets Life.

Box Turtle Bulletin reports on the horrible murder of a gay man in Alabama. His murderer pleads guilty and gets life, but by law, they have to finish telling the story of how it all happened. It's a horrific read. But these stories have to be told or the world will stay in denial.

On July 18, 2004, Gaines, Kelsay, and Porter plotted Weaver’s death because Gaines and Kelsay thought that Weaver was interfering in their relationship. Weaver had let Gaines and Kelsay stay with him in his home for a while. Porter simply didn’t like Weaver because of his sexuality. So that evening, Porter and Gaines snuck up on Weaver as he slept. Weaver woke briefly and begged Gaines to stop as Gaines wrapped a rope around his neck while Porter held Weaver’s feet. Weaver struggled to get away, but was overpowered.

After Weaver died, Gaines, Porter and Kelsay drove around town, stopping in at Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen and Arby’s. They even stopped into Kelsay’s mother’s house and played cards for a while before returning to Weaver’s trailer where his body still lay.

Gaines and Porter wrapped Weaver’s body in a blanket and loaded it into the trunk of a car. They stopped at a service station and filled a 3-liter bottle with gasoline before driving out to a lonely stretch of road. There, they laid Weaver face up on the blanket, poured gasoline on his body, urinated on him, then set his body on fire.

Scotty Joe Weaver’s body was found four days later.