A Bahamas man who has admitted to
killing a gay, HIV-positive man is free after a jury agreed the
murder was induced by the threat of rape, reports The Nassau
Guardian.
Frederick Green-Neely, 25, told a jury
in Nassau that he stabbed Dale Williams after he grabbed his genitals
inside Williams' Bain Town apartment in 2004.
Dorsey McPhee, lawyer for the defense,
said the killing was justified because his client was “defending
his manhood.”
“This man deserves to go home to be
with his family,” McPhee told the jury. “The death, we are
saying, was justified. Show the nation you don't impose yourself on
somebody, because one day you just might meet the wrong person.”
The two men knew each other before the
Feb. altercation and Green-Neely told jurors that he was “cool”
with Williams, whom he knew was gay and HIV-positive. On February 9,
2004, Green-Neely stopped at Williams' store to purchase a
Valentine's Day gift basket for his girlfriend and their newborn
baby, but the store was busy and Green-Neely agreed to return later.
At about 11PM, Green-Neely returned to
the store and accepted an invitation to enter Williams' studio
apartment.
Sitting across from each other, one on
a couch, the other on the bed, Williams confessed he had a crush on
him and, Green-Neely says, grabbed his crotch. A struggle ensued
between the two men during which he stabbed Williams three times.
Green-Neely and his wife were moved to
tears when the jury foreman announced that he had been acquitted of
Williams' murder.