Teen murderer of young gay man sentenced to 24 years in prison

Teen murderer of young gay man sentenced to 24 years in prison

Alex Davies

Brian Healless, the 18-year-old British man convicted of murdering fellow 18-year-old Alex Davies, a gay man, will spend the next 24 years in prison for his crime.

Judge Mark Brown labeled Healless a “cold-blooded killer,” and rejected arguments by Healless’ attorneys that he should receive a reduced sentence. Healless’ lawyers had argued that the killer suffers from schizophrenia and therefore deserved a reduced sentence.

“You were messaging him on Grindr and Instagram for the purpose of meeting him at a remote location,” Brown told Healless in the sentencing. “You were undoubtedly setting him up to kill and you are a manipulative, calculating and devious person.” Brown also called Davies a “kind-hearted, gentle and hard-working young man who would never have harmed anyone.” He then added: “He had just been promoted at work and will never have the chance to fulfill his potential in life.”

Related: A murderer in Nigeria says he can’t be gay because he’s a plumber. Really.

Healless met Davies last April on Grindr, advising Davies that he was not out and preferred a discreet hookup in a remote location. Upon meeting, Healless attacked Davies, punching and kicking him in the face as well as stabbing him 128 times. The stabbings and beatings didn’t actually kill Davies; rather, he asphyxiated as Healless dragged him face down through mud. Police found his body two days later.

A search of Healless’ home revealed that he had targeted numerous men on Grindr with a similar pretense. Data on his computer also uncovered that he had researched how to wipe the memory of a cell phone–the same model as Davies’–and vulnerabilities in the skull. In his sentencing, Judge Brown noted these facts, and accused Healless of targeting gay men as a potential serial killer.

www.queerty.com/teen-murderer-young-gay-man-sentenced-24-years-prison-20200325?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Tom of Finland, Chris Evans, Todrick Hall, Chloroquine, Roy Moore, Purell, Hair Cuts, Gay Men’s Chorus: HOT LINKS

Tom of Finland, Chris Evans, Todrick Hall, Chloroquine, Roy Moore, Purell, Hair Cuts, Gay Men’s Chorus: HOT LINKS

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When in hell, use Purell. 💦🦠💀📸 @13adamsmith

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Tom of Finland, Chris Evans, Todrick Hall, Chloroquine, Roy Moore, Purell, Hair Cuts, Gay Men’s Chorus: HOT LINKS

“Shadow Diplomat” and Cabinet Bible Study Leader Blames LGBTQ People for COVID-19 Pandemic

“Shadow Diplomat” and Cabinet Bible Study Leader Blames LGBTQ People for COVID-19 Pandemic

Late last night, reports surfaced of Ralph Drollinger blaming LGBTQ people for “God’s consequential wrath” and the COVID-19 pandemic. Drollinger has been called a “shadow diplomat” by the New York Times and leads a weekly Bible study group for President Donald Trump’s cabinet including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Housing & Urban Development  Secretary Ben Carson, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Azar and Carson are also on the COVID-19 Task Force. In response, Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign, issued the following statement:

“LGBTQ people around the country and around the world are struggling to cope with this global pandemic. They are worried about their health, their livelihoods, and their families. At a moment where we need to pull together by recognizing our shared humanity and mutual dependence, there are some of low moral character who see it as an opportunity to continue to try to divide us.

“Drollinger’s horrific assertions are ludicrous. Our government’s top leaders depend on him for moral advice and give him regular and direct access. His shameful views cannot be ignored. 

“Our country is in crisis, and rather than placing the blame on marginalized communities that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, our leaders and their advisors must focus in, buckle up and flatten the curve.

“We need leadership that embraces fact and science. A leader whose priority is to improve and save lives. Donald Trump is not that leader.”

HRC recently published a research brief outlining the particular health and economic risks faced by the LGBTQ community during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Many in the LGBTQ community are uniquely vulnerable, as they are more likely to work jobs in highly affected industries, often with more exposure and/or higher economic sensitivity to the COVID-19 crisis, are less likely to have health coverage, and are more likely to smoke and have chronic illnesses like asthma. Read the full brief here, and find a full list of all of HRC’s efforts and COVID-19 resources at this link.

www.hrc.org/blog/shadow-diplomat-cabinet-bible-study-leader-blames-lgbtq-people-for-covid-19?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Trump Cabinet’s biblical mentor believes pandemic is God’s anti-LGBTQ wrath

Trump Cabinet’s biblical mentor believes pandemic is God’s anti-LGBTQ wrath

He leads a weekly Bible study that’s attended by Cabinet Secretaries Mike Pompeo (State), Ben Carson (Housing & Urban Development), Betsy Devos (Education) and Alex Azar (Health & Human Services). Twice weekly, he meets with members of both the House and Senate at a congressional prayer service. His ministries lists Vice President Mike Pence as one of its sponsor. In fact, his ties to the current White House are so strong that the New York Times recently referred to him as a “shadow diplomat” within this administration.

His name is Ralph Drollinger. He’s a current preacher. He’s a former NBA basketball player. Oh, and he also believes that the current coronavirus is because of God’s wrath–something he believes is at least in part due to homosexuality.

Yes, you read that correctly. In a series of verbose blog posts and an additional study guide, this man who leads a weekly Cabinet bible meeting (one that former Energy Secretary Rick Perry has said best demonstrates the Trump administration’s “biblical values“) admits that he believes the current pandemic is a “consequential” or “sowing and reaping” form of wrath–one that directly stems from tolerance of certain things. Things like, he believes, “a proclivity toward lesbianism and homosexuality,” which he delineates as one of only a couple of reasons for why God might be ticked off enough to deliver a virus:

FULL: Is God Judging America Today?

Pretty specific, huh? And it’s not like Mr. Drollinger lists all kinds of things in his writing. If you check out his full writing, you’ll see that a hot button like abortion doesn’t even get a mention. Corporate greed is left unaddressed. The nation’s gun scourge is also off the table. But homosexuality? It (along with environmentalism) gets a whole section as a possible reason for why God’s wrath might be coming to our world.

To be “fair,” Mr. Droillinger doesn’t believe God has completely forsaken our too-accepting world . He does share in his writing a belief that coronavirus will be cured, and that we will be given a chance to course correct. But “not being totally destroyed” is hardly the point. The point here is that a man who is in weekly meetings with some of the GOP’s leading stars in all levels of our government believes that we need to course correct our world, and that acceptance of homosexuality is a primary reason why. He truly believes that a “sensation toward homosexuality” is in and of itself a reason to tick off a vengeful God, and the Trump administration is just like, “cool views; tell me more!”

It’s one thing when we hear about a rando pastor blaming a natural disaster on a Pride parade. This, however, is someone who actually has the friendly shoulder and the captive ears of people who set policy–people, like Pence and Carson, who are actively serving on the current COVID-19 task force! It may be not the most concerning thing happening in our world right now, but it’s not nothing.

March 25, 2020

www.glaad.org/blog/trump-cabinet%E2%80%99s-biblical-mentor-believes-pandemic-god%E2%80%99s-anti-lgbtq-wrath