ROCKFORD, Ala. (AP) -- Two men who murdered a homosexual over unwanted advances will avoid the electric chair because the victim's family opposes the death penalty.
A jury convicted Charles Butler Jr., 21, of capital murder Thursday in the slaying of Billy Jack Gaither, who was beaten to death and then burned atop kerosene-soaked tires in rural central Alabama.The case drew wide attention, with President Clinton comparing the slaying to the dragging death of a black man in Texas and the fatal beating of Matthew Shepard, a homosexual Wyoming college student who was lashed to a fence.
Judge John Rochester sentenced Butler to life in prison without parole, rather than the death sentence, at the request of Gaither's family and the prosecutor.
"We don't believe in the death penalty. The only one who's got a right to take a life is God," said Randy Gaither, the victim's brother.
Steven Mullins, 25, who pleaded guilty to the murder and testified against Butler, was to be sentenced today, with the prosecution seeking life without parole. The judge said Thursday he has no choice on sentencing when the prosecution doesn't seek the death penalty.
The victim's father, Marion Gaither, said he hoped his son would not be remembered as a gay murder victim, but as a loving son who lived with -- and looked after -- his aging parents.
Gaither, a 39-year-old computer operator from Sylacauga, was a drinking buddy of Mullins. Mullins and Butler accused Gaither of propositioning them. Butler blamed the killing on Mullins, a skinhead who admitted cutting Gaither's throat and cracking his head open with an ax handle.
"I was in shock and didn't know what to do," Butler told the jury as he wiped away tears Thursday.
District Attorney Fred Thompson said Butler had numerous chances to flee from the crime or get help for the victim. "You went along every step of the way?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Butler replied.
Butler also admitted helping Mullins burn the victim's body and torch his car to destroy evidence, but he said he was acting on orders from Mullins.