It might be hard to believe, but in 2015 and in certain states of Australia “gay panic” still exists – at least in part – as a viable legal defence for criminal charges of murder.
South Australian Greens MP Tammy Franks has called for the excuse to be abolished completely from the South Australian legal system, following the granting of a retrial of a man found guilty of murder that was given, in part, due to lawyers arguing the deceased had made unwanted sexual advances.
Michael Joseph Lindsay was found guilty of murdering Andrew Negre in 2011, and was sentenced to 23 years in jail. The court found that Lindsay had severely bashed and stabbed Negre to death at Lindsay’s home.
Lawyers for Lindsay have since successfully lobbied for a retrial, arguing that Negre had caused Lindsay to lose control by making unwanted sexual advances. They also argued that the trial judge had misdirected the jury on the subject of provocation – in defending a murder trial this can reduce the guilty charge down to manslaughter, which in turn would significantly affect the sentence imposed.
The High Court stated that the case “had a larger dimension than merely an unwanted homosexual advance on a heterosexual man.“
However, Franks insists that this remains evidence that the gay panic defence is still active within South Australian courts, and it needs to be stamped out.
“It only applies when it’s claimed that it was a homosexual male advance. It’s offensive, it’s homophobic, it needs to be removed from South Australia’s culture. This defence only applies in the case of a man who has killed another man. It doesn’t apply if a woman makes a non-violent sexual advance to a man or a woman. It doesn’t apply if a man makes a non-violent sexual advance to a woman.”
Franks had previously introduced a bill to eradicate the gay panic laws from South Australia in 2013 after Lindsay had been convicted, but had been knocked back by the legislative council. The Legislative Committee has now announced their intentions to re-open the enquiry, which Franks has welcomed.
Queensland is the only other state in the country that maintains gay panic as a viable defence for murder. Official efforts towards abolishing it within the state are currently underway.
Photo: AFP via Getty Images.
