A local paper has won the right to name a homophobic bully who assaulted a gay 15-year-old boy. Homophobic bully named and shamed by local paper After sentencing, representatives of The South Shields Gazette successfully argued that Murray should not be protected from identification. The South Shields Gazette appealed to magistrates at South Tyneside Youth Court to lift the automatic anonymity the law grants to offenders under 18, in order to publicise the hate crime. 16-year-old Darren Murphy, of Kirkstone Avenue, Jarrow, led a gang of six teenagers who set upon the 15-year-old as he walked along the A19 in Jarrow on May 9th. The brave gay teenager walked past the gang, who were shouting homophobic abuse at him, but when one of the gang punched the teen, Murphy led a sustained and savage attack. The teenager was kicked in the groin and punched, but managed to escape. He took refuge in some bushes and then ran to a friend’s house, where his horrified mother collected him and alerted police. Two members of the gang, aged 14 and 17, were convicted last week. Magistrates were not moved by appeals from Murray’s lawyer to spare him a jail sentence. Geoffrey Forrester, defending, said: "In many ways custody will be easier than the challenge and discipline that a community order will involve. "In many ways it will be a case of just counting off the days." But magistrates sentenced Murray to six months in a young offenders institution and another six months under a supervision order. After sentencing, representatives of The South Shields Gazette successfully argued that Murray should not be protected from identification. The 17-year-old gang member was given a six month curfew, a year’s community punishment order and was ordered to pay costs totalling £125. The 14-year-old was let off with a caution. what do u all think about this or have u heard it already?
Well whenever i read these kind of stories dealing with hate crimes etc. no matter what the ending i can almost feel fire emmiting from my body. If i ever did witness something like this, the teens on the offense would get a nasty surprised. Keep in mind that im not a strong person nor a violent one. But these kinds of things surge enough adrenaline through me to stop a bull dead in its tracks. I'm very very happy on the other hand that this boy got the justice he deserves and then some. The fatc that the teens identities were legally released (in the end) shows a small, but bright glimmer of good that is left not just for us, but the world.
And this was in the UK i wornder what will happen if i come out to some of my other friends and then the whole school finds out i wornder what will happen the same or something?
Hopefully this won't happen to you and all your friends are supportive, but to be on the safe side, if somehow the whole school finds out, I wouldn't walk around uncrowded places alone, especially if you live in a small town where being gay is a rarity. But once you've gauged everyone's reactions and all your friends are cool with it, and no one seems to be violent towards you, then I wouldn't worry too much. I just really hate that these kind of things happen. Fear really blows.
