Hate crimes. They’re nothing new, and yet they seem to grow more vicious as our society supposedly evolves. Hate crimes can occur because of race, gender, disability, class, age–the list is extensive. One group in particular has been targeted heavily in the last two decades: gays and lesbians. Billy Jack Gaither is just one of several victims of a violent hate crime.

Sylacauga, Alabama has a population of under 15,000, and in 1999, very few were openly gay. Billy chose to stay in the small community, living at home so he could care for his devoutly Baptist parents. As an adult, Billy had finally gotten to a point of peace about himself. Everyone who knew Billy well accepted his sexual orientation, and while he didn’t overtly broadcast his preferences, he didn’t hide them, either.

39-year-old Billy Jack Gaither was murdered on February 19, 1999. His throat was cut and his body bludgeoned with an ax handle before he was thrown on top of a pile of old tires and set on fire.

If you’ve studied murder at all, you know overkill is a sign of rage.

But what could hardworking, mild-mannered Billy Jack have done to cause such anger?

Apparently, Billy Jack made the mistake of being himself around the wrong people.

Less than a month after the murder, police arrested Charles Monroe Butler, Jr., age 21, and Steven Eric Mullins, 25. Butler came forward first. The night of murder remained vivid in his mind, and he described it in great detail. He was playing pool in a tournament at a local bar. Mullins came in and got him after a fight had broken out at The Tavern. The two went to Watersheds, a public place everyone goes to party. Butler then claimed Billy Jack started talking “queer stuff.” He would later tell Frontline Billy Jack propositioned the men for a threesome. Things quickly got out of control.

This is an excerpt from Charles Monroe Butler’s interview with Frontline:

You’re saying Billy Jack basically hit on you, right?

Yes.

And you kicked him. Why?

I don’t know. I’d been drinking a lot whiskey, and just didn’t have no understanding . . . I didn’t even know the man, for him to be hitting on me. . . . Tempers just flared. It’s like he didn’t have no respect.

He was disrespecting you?

Yes.

How?

Well, sir, I don’t know. It’s not like I’m some gay tramp out there, waiting to be corn-holed by some prick.

So if a woman had done that to you, that wouldn’t be disrespect?

No, sir, I don’t reckon so.

According to Butler, it was Mullins who cut Billy Jack’s throat and stuffed him in the truck. They drove out to a desolate location, got the tires and ax handle Mullins had already stocked in the trunk, and Butler started lighting the tires.

Here’s where things get interesting. Butler insisted he knew nothing about the plan before that night, but Mullins claimed he’d told Butler he wanted to “get rid” of Billy Jack two weeks prior to the murder. He also claimed he hardly knew Billy Jack and the victim had propositioned him twice before he’d killed him, which Butler said was a lie.

Their stories don’t match up, and we’ll probably never know the exact truth.

In Mullins’s official statement to police, he said that after he drug Billy Jack out of the trunk and left him on the ground for dead, the victim made a last ditch effort for his life. Billy Jack reared up and knocked Mullins down the hill. By the time Mullins crawled back up, Billy Jack was trying to leave in the car. Butler had disappeared.

According to Mullins, after Butler showed back up, the older man beat Billy Jack to death and the two men tossed his body onto the burning tires. After the murder, the two friends cleaned up and went out for a drink.

Frontline did a a series of interviews on the murder, and Billy Jack’s brother Ricky remembers Mullins being more than an acquaintance. Billy Jack often loaned Mullins money or gave him a ride to work. There were also rumors they were more than friends, something both Ricky Gaither and Charles Butler believe to be true.

So why did Mullins and Butler kill Billy Jack Gaither?

In court, Mullins stated he killed Billy Jack because he was a “faggot.”

That’s why he killed him, because he was a faggot and he wanted his money. They went out and partied after they threw my brother on the tires. –Ricky Gaither.

Butler claimed he felt disrespected by Billy Jack’s assumption that he too, was gay. He also told Frontline there were rumors Steve Mullins and Billy Jack were together, and that his attorney had discovered Mullins was flat broke. He theorized Mullins offered both himself and Butler to Billy Jack in exchange for money, but that’s never been proven.

He regrets his actions, even had nightmares about them. Yet he did nothing to save Billy Jack’s life when Steve Mullins was beating him to death. The court found both Steve Mullins and Butler guilty of first degree murder. They’re currently serving life without parole.

Ricky Gaither believes Billy Jack may have been killed because Steve Mullins was afraid his reputation would be ruined, that he had to put on an act for the younger Butler. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t find significant comments from Steve Mullins about his decision to murder Billy Jack Gaither other than his original statement to police.

I’ll never understand crimes like this one. Everyone has their religious beliefs, and we may not all agree, but crimes like these are utterly heartbreaking. Is it ego? Self-loathing? Ignorance? What drives a human being to kill over something as basic and uncontrollable as sexual orientation?

Frontline Series of Interviews (Ricky Gaither, Kathy Gaither, Charles Butler).

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Last month, Beverly Diehl issued a call on her blog to participate in her MLK Blogfest, and I jumped at the chance to be a part of something so meaningful.

Growing up in predominantly white southern Iowa, I didn’t have many experiences with racism. Everything I knew about the subject came from the history books, television, and movies. I knew Martin Luther King was an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement, and that was about it.

Then, the summer before my junior year of high school, our music department took a trip to Washington, D.C. By bus, mind you. From Iowa. One of the buses broke down on the way, and the trip was talked about for years as being a miserable but sometimes fun experience. At sixteen, I didn’t grasp the importance of lying the wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier during the changing of the guard, or of being in the East Room of the White House where both Lincoln and Kennedy’s bodies were laid out. Seeing Lincoln’s bloody pillow in the house across the street from Ford Theater was chilling, but I was more concerned with boys and how I looked.

But one thing about that trip sticks out in my mind: the first time I heard King’s legendary “I Have A Dream” speech. To be honest, I don’t remember where exactly we were–I think it was somewhere around the Lincoln monument–but I remember being in a media room, the lights darkened, and sitting with my best friend and her mother. And the video played.

I’d read the speech before, learned about its importance. But I’d never heard King speak. That day, watching the black and white video of a courageous man in the prime of his life as he stood on the steps of the Lincoln monument, a perfect backdrop, I was moved to tears. It was the first and only time a speech ever made me cry. It was more than just the passionate tone of King’s voice, the cadence of the words, and the reaction of the crowd.

It was the first time I truly understood the plight of African American’s during the Civil Rights Movement. A hundred years after Lincoln freed them from the terrible practice of slavery, they still languished, fighting for equality. Finally, I understood–as well as I could–the cruelties they faced.

I often wonder if today’s generations truly grasp the sacrifices of King and the other brave men and women who marched on Washington. Would they have the courage to stand up for their beliefs, for their personal rights? Even though racism is still prevelant in this country, do the younger generations understand the humiliation of not being allowed in a restaurant because of skin color? Of having to move seats because of skin color? With all the priveleges we have today, can any of us really understand?

Today, nearly forty-four years after his tragic death, I wonder if King would consider his dream fulfilled. What would he think of the world as it is today? Despite equal opportunities and an African-American president, are the minorities truly free at last? Will we ever live in a world where people aren’t judged by skin, religion, or ethnic background?

What does today mean to you? Do you remember the first time you heard the “I Have a Dream” speech?