Sean W. Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Sean W. Kennedy was a gay
20-year-old man who was punched and subsequently died as he was leaving a bar.
The Matthew Shepard and James E. Byrd Jr. Hate crime Prevention Act was signed into law on October 28, 2009 by President Obama. It included sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, the disabled and military personnel and their family members. This is the first all-inclusive bill ever passed in the United States, taking 45 years to complete.
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 involuntary 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 involuntary manslaughter. Unable to secure a conviction for murder, the trial lawyers opted for involuntary manslaughter in order to get the violent activity onto Moller's record. The sentence carries a 0–5 years prison term, and Moller has since been released on July 1, 2009.
The mission of Sean's Last Wish, Inc is to "empower the community through educational diversity programs, non-violent conflict resolution and community involvement."
The foundation is a tax exempt, 501C3 educational organization. On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the complete Hate Crime Prevention Act into law which is now all inclusive. Sean's mother, Elke Kennedy and her husband Jim Parker, received a special invitation to attend the signing of the hate crime bill, and both attended the ceremony at the White House in Washington DC.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
20-year-old man who was punched and subsequently died as he was leaving a bar.
Death
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."
On May 16, 2007, at about 3:45 am, Kennedy was leaving a local bar in Greenville when a car pulled up beside him, a young man got out of the car, came around and approached Kennedy, called him a faggot and then punched him hard enough that his facial bones were broken, he then fell and hit the asphalt. This resulted in his brain separating from his brain stem and ricocheting in his skull. He was left lying there and a little while later, one of Kennedy's friends received a voicemail that said, "You tell your faggot friend when he wakes up, he owes me five hundred dollars for my broken hand."
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, and federal hate-crimes legislation did not include sexual orientation at the time.The Matthew Shepard and James E. Byrd Jr. Hate crime Prevention Act was signed into law on October 28, 2009 by President Obama. It included sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, the disabled and military personnel and their family members. This is the first all-inclusive bill ever passed in the United States, taking 45 years to complete.
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 and he did not have the proper laws and sentencing structure to have Stephen Andrew Moller sentenced with the appropriate jail time. SC has a 25 year sentencing gap, they have 1st degree murder which carries 30 years to life and involuntary manslaughter which carries 0 to 5 years. This is considered a non-violent crime and the perpetrator only has to serve one third of his sentence.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 involuntary 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 involuntary manslaughter. Unable to secure a conviction for murder, the trial lawyers opted for involuntary manslaughter in order to get the violent activity onto Moller's record. The sentence carries a 0–5 years prison term, and Moller has since been released on July 1, 2009.
Sentencing
On June 11, 2008, Stephen Andrew Moller, appeared at a plea hearing -no jury trial- where he received a five-year sentence, suspended to three years, including the time he served in county lock up before he was released on bond - 199 days. He received a 2-month credit for working on getting his GED and was released 7 days early on July 1, 2009 after serving only 12 months in prison instead of July 7, 2009, because all releases always happen on the first of the month, according to the department of parole in SC and 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, Inc was organized and started by Sean's mother Elke Kennedy one week after his murder.The mission of Sean's Last Wish, Inc is to "empower the community through educational diversity programs, non-violent conflict resolution and community involvement."
The foundation is a tax exempt, 501C3 educational organization. On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the complete Hate Crime Prevention Act into law which is now all inclusive. Sean's mother, Elke Kennedy and her husband Jim Parker, received a special invitation to attend the signing of the hate crime bill, and both attended the ceremony at the White House in Washington DC.