Anthony Walker
On this date in 2005, a Black teenager was murdered in England with an ax in a hate crime.
Anthony Walker, 18, was waiting for a bus with his girlfriend and a cousin when a man started shouting racist taunts at them near Walker's home in Liverpool. The three left to find another bus stop to avoid trouble, but a group of three or four men followed them through a park. One of Walker's companions saw one of them club Walker with an ax. They ran to get help and returned a few minutes later to find him with the ax embedded in his skull. Walker died early the next day.
On November 30, 2005, Michael Barton, the white younger brother of Manchester City Soccer Player Joey Barton, was found guilty of the murder (Barton's cousin, Paul Taylor, 20, had earlier pleaded guilty to the same offense). The justice ruled that Taylor, who had delivered the fatal blow, should be jailed for a minimum of 23 years and eight months, and Barton, who had supplied the murder weapon, must serve a minimum of 17 years and eight months behind bars.
Three more people were found guilty of helping Barton and Taylor flee. On May 10, 2006, Robert Williams was convicted of providing money and booking a hotel room for the pair. He was sentenced to two years and four months, and Paul Morson was sentenced to 11 months in prison for providing a getaway car. Tracy Garner admitted assisting an offender and received an 11-month suspended sentence.
