A man and two youths kicked a man to death over a five-pound bet; Judge calls the act ’sadistic conduct on an extremely vulnerable victim’

From the BBC, [UK] Independent, [UK] Times, Sunderland Echo:

A gang of three must serve life terms in prison in the murder of Brent Martin, a man with learning disabilities who was punched, kicked and stomped to death for sport.

The three placed a £5 bet to see who could knock Martin out first, then chased him a mile and a half through the area near his home in the northeast England city of Sunderland last August before beating him. The drunken gang then stripped Martin of his clothes and left him dying next to a parked car while they posed for photographs.

Martin, who was 23, was described by Judge John Milford as a “gentle and caring person” with a long history of disabilities who was simply looking for friends.

… Ian Macrae, editor of Disability Now magazine, said: … “we are disappointed that the judge did not mention the fact that Mr Martin was clearly targeted because he was disabled and that his horrific murder was aggravated by hatred towards his impairment.

“Murders motivated by homophobia and racism often attract far stiffer sentences. All such horrific crimes must be treated equally by the criminal justice system.”

The gang ringleader, William Hughes, 22, and Marcus Miller, 16, pleaded guilty to murder. Stephen Bonallie, 17, denied the charge but was sentenced yesterday to at least 18 years in jail.

Miller and Bonallie were both trained boxers, the court was told. An attorney for Miller attempted to shift the blame to the availability of cheap alcohol.

Earlier posts here and here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 6:01 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, brain damage, criminal justice, intellectual/developmental disabilities, international, law, violence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post