Greetings,
This
is Fr Paul Kelly, Catholic Priest from Maryborough, Queensland. I write to ask for your support and also for
you to distribute this issue as widely as possible. The law in Queensland
unwittingly tolerates ingrained bigotry and intolerance in the area of the
defence of provocation for murder. I am campaigning to close this common law
loophole in this State. I have included
below an explanation of the background to this and how it does fit with
Catholic teachings.
i
hope the following text might be helpful as a resource
An
archaic defence that belongs in the dark ages
by
Father
Paul Kelly
In
July 2008 I was shocked when I received a call from the police telling me that
my parish church of Saint Mary’s, in Maryborough, Queensland, was a crime
scene.
A
man was found dead by parishioners as they arrived for a morning communion
liturgy. It was devastating and shocking. I and my parishioners followed the
case closely. Very soon, two suspects were caught. Our church security cameras
caught the events of the terrible bashing.
I
was appalled when it was claimed that an alleged homosexual advance was a reason given for the man being bashed and left
lying overnight in the church grounds. I
was likewise appalled when I found that an alleged or perceived homosexual advance (of even the most minor
gesture or touch) can be used as a partial defence in a murder case in
Queensland (and also to an extent in NSW).
What
reason could justify a bashing that leads to someone’s death?
In
these two states, “non-violent homosexual advance” can be used as a defence to reduce a charge of murder to manslaughter. In every other state, this partial defence in
cases of murder, known as “gay panic” or
“homosexual advance,” is a loophole that has been mercifully closed. In NSW the the defence is also available.
pAny violence that is not proportionate to the threat is excessive by
definition. A gentle touching could rightly be gently pushed away but not a
cause for violent and repeated bashing
unto death. This is only common sense.
But
in Queensland, the law hasn’t changed. And it deserves to banished from the books. I was shocked and disgusted when the mother
of the victim who died at the church felt
obliged by these allegations about her son, who after all was the victim in this case, to speak up in the media saying he
wasn’t gay.
The
fact that a mother felt she needed to explain that these allegations were false indicates the strength of even the
suggestion of it in the minds of many people. I felt strongly that she shouldn’t even need
to be defending this. Even if a person
did some gesture or touch, I could not see why this could in any way mitigate against a violent bashing
that leads to death.
I
was utterly dismayed in October last year when gay panic was raised in a different murder trial, this time in the death
of Stephen John Ward. The assailant
allegedly bashed the victim 20 to 30 times and dumped him in bushland.
Although the final decision in that case turned on other matters, the reason for the bashing being alleged gay panic
was raised.
This
glaring gap in the idea that all people are equal before the law needs to be closed.
It would be quite unacceptable if a man bashed a woman to death and then
argued that he bashed her because she
allegedly “came on to him” and he reacted badly to it.
It would be howled down as intolerable. In fact, it was howled down recently overseas: recently in New Zealand,
the defence of provocation was totally
removed by the government after a violent man tried to use provocation to explain the bashing death of his wife. So
too should a claim that some kind of
sexual advance by a member of the same sex could provoke extreme violence.
If a
woman could use the excuse that she bashed a man to death because she reacted violently to his advances, there would
be a lot of very scared men around. It
is ludicrous.
I
wrote twice to the Attorney-General’s department in Queensland. The response I received indicated that some changes were
being looked at and implemented. But
they did not want to entirely close the loophole because the laws about provocation that govern it might be able to be
used by a battered spouse who defends
themself violently after an initial touching which they (from previous experience) know to be the forerunner of
greater violence. However, the cases I
have followed are nothing like that. The battered spouse defence actually is
covered in another part of the Code of Queensland law and has been dealt with in special sections of the
law of other states, namely Victoria.
IT
has been noted that battered spouses who kill are acting more in self-defence rather than provocation. This illustrates the hubris shown by the
previous Queensland government.
This
loophole is dangerous. It doesn’t need to be a gay advance, it could be simply an action mistaken to be gay advance.
You don’t even need to be gay, you could
be mistaken to be gay.
An
accused could also be merely making up the story that he was the victim of a homosexual
advance. who is to tell. it is crazy. It
also puts the deceased person on trial and makes their actions the focus of the matter rather than the violence and extent
of the actions of the offender.
Some
have expressed surprise that a Roman Catholic Priest would be advocating this change to the law. However, this really
reflects a poor understanding of the
Catholic Church’s teaching. The Church teaches that: “…(Men and women with homosexual tendencies) must be accepted with
respect, compassion, and sensitivity.
Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”
If this teaching doesn’t relate to standing up against hatred, violence
or killing of homosexual people, I don’t
know what it would mean!
This
is an issue about ordinary human rights that apply to all people, irrespective of sexuality. No person of goodwill would advocate violence
or killing of homosexuals, irrespective
of one’s moral beliefs. Let’s change this law.
Father
Kelly has re-started a petition addressed to Campbell Newman to change the
Queensland law. see also this link: http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/eliminate-the-gay-panic-defence-from-queensland-law-gaypanic
Special
update note:
I
have annotated some responses to the Qld attorney General's bizzare comments in
a recent ABC radio interview: http://australianprovocation.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/attorney-general-jarrod-bleijie.html
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