Teenager guilty of axe murder

[Deadly]

The teenage brother of a Manchester City midfielder was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering Anthony Walker, a black student hacked to death with an ice axe in what police said was a racist killing.

Michael Barton, 17, half-brother of midfielder Joey Barton, had denied killing the 18-year-old college student in July near the northwestern city of Liverpool.

Walkers killing shocked the local community and attracted huge media attention, evoking memories of the 1993 high-profile racist killing of Stephen Lawrence in southeast London.

Both Lawrence and Walker were attacked as they waited at bus stops and both were strong students with high aspirations. Walker wanted to be a lawyer, Lawrence an architect.

Walker's mother Gee said outside the court she was satisfied with the verdict and would try to forgive her son's killers.

"At the point of death, Jesus said 'I forgive them because they don't know what they do.' I've got to forgive them," she told reporters.

The Walker family said Anthony had been killed because of the colour of his skin, a belief the police share.

"We said right from the outset we believed it was a racially motivated attack. I still firmly believe that," said Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Currie.

Police said Walker was escorting his white girlfriend Louise Thompson, 17, to a bus stop when he was set upon by a group of youths. The attack came minutes after he had been taunted with racist abuse.

Earlier this month, another man Paul Taylor, 20, admitted killing Walker before his trial was due to start at Liverpool Crown Court.

Both Taylor and Barton fled the country following the attack but later returned to Liverpool following a televised appeal from Barton's brother.

During his trial, Michael Barton said he was not a racist and denied that the axe used to kill Walker was his.

Thousands of mourners crammed into Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral for Walker's funeral.

After his death, Walker's family learnt that the teenager, a devout Christian, had gained straight A passes in his recent school exams.

Source - http://uk.news.yahoo.com/30112005/32...xe-murder.html

[incognito™]

been following this closely... there was the usual phone in on "Pete Price" last night and the amount of biggoted idiots that were on was unbelievable... its all over the news today about the racist graffiti that popped up at the site where Anthony Walker was killed shortly after the verdict came out...

Anthony walkers mother has said she has forgiven the lads for what they have done as she believes god will deal with them, I am sorry if someone had killed one of my familly I could never in a million years forgive them.

[Deadly]

Yeah, doubt i could aswell, guess the other option is letting hatred eat you up inside though.

Just finished reading about their sentences, both sentenced to longer than they've been alive. I bet they're not even hardcore rascists, just a pair of arseholes who thought they'd act the hardman and call the guy some names and beat him up, and it all went too far.

Anyway heres the story

"PAUL TAYLOR was free to kill after being released from a young offenders' centre only four months into a 21-month sentence for burglary.

The astonishing revelation comes as Taylor and accomplice Michael Barton were today jailed for life for the racist axe murder of Anthony Walker.

The decision to release Taylor left him free to embark on a spree of vandalism and theft which ended in the18-year-old student's death.

Taylor, 20, of Elizabeth Road, Huyton, was ordered to serve a minimum of 23 years, eight months. Barton, 17, of Boundary Road, Huyton, will serve at least 17 years, eight months.

Today victims and experts called for changes to the legal system which freed Taylor to kill.

Taylor, 20, admitted murder the day he was due to stand trial. Yesterday, Barton, brother of Manchester City FC player Joey, was convicted of murder by a jury at Liverpool crown court.

Now it has emerged Taylor first appeared before the courts a week after his 14th birthday and a string of appearances followed.

In February 2002 he received a 12-month conditional discharge for burglary offences. Two months after that expired - in May 2003 - Taylor was again in court again for burglaries and was given 100 hours' community rehabilitation. He was finally locked up on October 2004 after being convicted of yet more burglaries.

Taylor was handed a 21-month sentence but served less than a third and was back on the streets of Huyton in February this year. Officials say it was due to the amount of time he spent in prison on remand.

In July he and Barton killed Anthony.

Today Marie McCourt, Merseyside coordinator for Support After Murder and Manslaughter, said: "Many killings happen when the perpetrator is on parole or an early release programme.

"It is something which we have been trying to raise awareness about for a long time."it was not an unusual situation."

"Taylor never even served a third of that sentence and it was his third conviction. If he had served his full sentence Anthony Walker would be alive today."

Mrs McCourt's daughter Helen, 22, who was murdered 17 years ago by former pub landord Ian Simms, from Billinge. Her body has never been found and until he confessed where her remains are he wil remain in prison.

SAMM has been campaigning for changes to sentencing rules for repeat offenders - it would mean that while a fist-time offender could be released after serving a third of their term, any subsequent jail terms would have to be completed in full.

Paula Ogunboro, from Toxteth, set up the support group Mothers Against Guns after her 25-year-old son Eugene was shot in 2003.

It later emerged that, like Paul Taylor, Eugene's killer had also previously spent time in prison.

Paula said: "These jail sentences are not working because the offenders are coming out and they have not been rehabilitated, sufficiently punished or had sufficient time or help to reflect on their actions."

Huyton MP Eddie O'Hara said: "I share the concern of all members of the public and it is a matter of concern to hear that Taylor never served an adequate sentence."

[TheFincher]

I think this kind of crime is a very good argument for bringing back Capital punishment for 2 reasons......
1) The cost of keeping a pair of low lives like this in prison is far too much and not a bill the tax payer should have to stump up. Ive read quite a bit about these two and from what i can gather they are pretty much scum. Taylor has not long been out of prison for some other crimes and they are both hooked on drugs and have nothing better to do with their time than make a nuisance of themselves to residents that live on the estate where they are from. I read that the only reason that Taylor pleaded guilty was because the locals were initially too scared to say anything bad against them for fear of them or their family being hurt until they realised that what they did was so bad they couldnt not say anything.

2) I have long time been of the opnion that if you kill someone in cold blood why should you be allowed to live? What these men did was not only kill one lad they destroyed his family in the process, every day for the rest of his families lives they will remember what they did to their son and whilst the mother of Anthony may say she forgives them she will never ever forget.

[Deadly]

Just read this..related to this case...

Racist graffiti has been daubed at the scene of Anthony Walker's murder in Merseyside, police have said.

The incident happened just hours after teenager Michael Barton was found guilty of murdering Anthony.

The graffiti was painted just inside the entrance to McGoldrick Park, Huyton, where the 18-year-old black student was killed with an ice axe.

Merseyside Police removed the graffiti and refused to disclose the details of what was written.

Insp Michael Jarman, of Merseyside Police, said on Wednesday evening: "I can confirm that racist graffiti was left at McGoldrick Park and we know that it happened after today's verdict.

"We are taking statements from people in the area and we are appealing for anyone with information to contact us.

"We believe this type of incident represents a small minority in the Huyton area and we won't tolerate it.

"I'm not prepared to go into the details of what was written."

What kinda sick bastard would do that?? aren't half some twisted people out there.