Deon P. Green, Gleaner Writer
LONDON, England:
THE TWO men who killed Anthony Walker with an axe in England only because he was black, are expected to be sentenced to life in prison today. The second accused was found guilty in the Liverpool Crown Court yesterday.
After two days of deliberation 17-year-old Michael Barton was also found guilty of murdering Walker. Barton's cousin, 20-year-old Paul Taylor, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty when the trial was about to start last week.
Eighteen-year-old Walker, a devout Christian of Jamaican parentage, had gained top grades at the secondary level and intended to pursue a course in law. But he was killed with an ice axe at McGoldrick Park in Huyton, Merseyside, on July 29.
Justice Leveson told the court he was sure this attack was racially-motivated and premeditated from the moment that the two men set off in the motor car. Anthony's mother, Gee, said outside the court that justice had been done.
During the trial the court heard that Barton shouted racist abuse at Anthony as he waited at a bus stop near the Huyton Park pub with his cousin, Marcus Binns, and white girlfriend, Louise Thompson.
The three walked away to another bus stop, but Barton and his cousin were followed by the two accused in a car near McGoldrick Park where they were ambushed and attacked.
Marcus and Louise had to run for their lives, but Taylor caught up with Anthony and drove the ice axe into his skull.
