Remembering Scotty Joe Weaver
On this day in 2004, Scotty Joe Weaver fell victim to an anti-gay hate crime in Bay Minette, Alabama. He died at the hands of his own roommates, people who on the surface represented friendship and trust. Yet Scotty Joe was murdered while pleading for his life in front of people who betrayed that relationship and bond.
Today, join the Unfinished Lives project as we remember Scotty Joe, mourn his loss, and celebrate his life. In our memory, we restore to Scotty Joe the dignity and worth that rightly belongs to every individual, regardless of one’s sexual orientation.
Read a September 2007 news story carried by WKRG about the prison sentencing of Weaver’s assailants, and view the related television news report:
July 18, 2008 - Posted by unfinishedlives | Alabama, Anglo Americans, Law and Order, Perpetrators of Hate Crime, Remembrances, gay men | Alabama, Anglo Americans, gay men, hate crime, immolation, Remembrances | No Comments Yet
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About

If you are a first-time visitor to the Unfinished Lives Project website, we invite you to read A Welcome Message introducing you to our project. We are truly grateful for your visit.
The Unfinished Lives Project website is a place of public discourse which remembers and honors LGBT hate crime victims, while also revealing the reality of unseen violence perpetrated against people whose only “offense” is their sexual orientation. LGBT people in the United States are suffering a slow-rolling holocaust of terror and murder all across the country. Every locale and demographic of society are affected: First Nations, Anglo, Black, Latino and Latina, South and Southeast Asian, Transgender, Gay men, Lesbians, disabled, young, and mature. Homophobia has a long, crooked arm, and it is reaching out to snatch the life away from women and men whose tragic stories are under-reported to begin with, and whose memories are swiftly forgotten.
The horror of these killings transcends the shock and bereavement of loved ones and friends. These are not typical homicides; they are not killings for money or drugs, incidents of domestic strife, or crimes of passion. The vicious nature of hate crimes against LGBT persons is extremely brutal, grotesquely violent, and egregiously hateful.
Each murder serves the LGBT population as a sobering warning about the actual level of danger in our communities. The message these killings send is that freedom and open life for LGBT people is a cruel dream.
Our Project Director

Stephen V. Sprinkle is Director of Field Education and Supervised Ministry, and Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, a post he has held since 1994. An ordained Baptist minister, he is the first open and out Gay scholar in the history of the Divinity School, and the first open and out LGBT person to be tenured there. Read More…
Recent Social Justice Advocacy Activity By Dr. Sprinkle
Summer 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle responded to the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Raid on the Rainbow Lounge, Fort Worth’s newest gay bar, on June 28, 2009, the exact 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Dr. Sprinkle was invited to speak at three protest events sponsored by Queer LiberAction of Dallas. Here, he is keynoting the Rainbow Lounge Protest at the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 12, 2009. Read More…
Contact Us
Communicate with the Unfinished Lives project team: UnfinishedLives@yahoo.com
Schedule a Presentation
Dr. Sprinkle will gladly present his acclaimed presentation to your organization. To arrange an Unfinished Lives presentation for your organization or group, please contact us.
Dr. Sprinkle has given his Unfinished Lives presentation to these and other community groups and organizations. Read More…
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Recent Comments
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- 19 Transgender Murders Per Month in 2009 To Be Remembered at TDOR « Unfinished Lives on Angie Zapata’s Murderer Sentenced to 60 More Years
- 19 Transgender Murders Per Month in 2009 To Be Remembered at TDOR « Unfinished Lives on President Obama Keeps Promise, Signs Shepard/Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act
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Top Posts
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- Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes in California Increase Alarmingly
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- Mother of Sean Kennedy, Slain South Carolina Gay Man, Lobbies Congress for Matthew Shepard Act
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- "Shoot Nudists Before They Bugger You": Video Game That Targets LGBT People
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Anti-Violence Programs
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Blogroll
Endorsers
Foundations and Organizations
- ACLU/American Civil Liberties Union
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- AWAB/Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
- Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry: CLGS
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- HRC Religion and Faith Program
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Hate Crime Links
Hosts of Our Presentation
- Agapé Metropolitan Community Church
- AWAB/Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
- Brite Divinity School
- Equality Texas
- Forum on the Military Chaplaincy
- Harris School of Nursing TCU
- MCC Austin at Freedom Oaks
- NC State GLBT Center
- Nolan Catholic High School
- Park View Project
- PFLAG of Polk County, Florida
- Queer LiberAction
- Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
- St. Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church
- University Baptist Church in Austin
- UTA School of Social Work
Legal Defense
Motion Pictures & Documentaries
- A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story
- Alfredo’s Fire
- Amancio: Two Faces on a Tombstone
- Anti-Gay Hate Crime
- Any Mother’s Son/U.S. Navy Petty Officer Allen Schindler
- Boys Don’t Cry
- Brokeback Mountain
- Call Me Malcolm
- Charlie Howard: A Memorial
- For the Bible Tells Me So
- Frontline: Assault on Gay America/Billy Jack Gaither
- Hate Crime
- Investigative Reports – Anti-Gay Hate Crimes
- Licensed to Kill
- Matthew Shepard: Death in the High Desert
- Milk
- Paragraph 175
- Ryan Keith Skipper Documentary
- Saint of 9/11 (Life of Fr. Mychal Judge)
- Sakia Gunn Film Project
- Small Town Gay Bar
- Soldier’s Girl
- The Celluloid Closet
- The Laramie Project
- The Park View Project: Talana Kreeger
- The Times of Harvey Milk
- Thorn Grass/Life of Fred C. Martinez, Jr.
- Two Spirits Film Project: Fred C. Martinez
Box Turtle Bulletin- Same-Sex Marriage now legal in Buenos Aires
- Sunday Driver: New York to DC and Back Again
- Anglican Communion’s Tangled Connections To Uganda’s Anti-Gay Pogrom
- Will LDS’s Incremental Approach To LGBT Issues Someday Lead To Bigger Changes?
- Another Reason To Rejoice
- Carrie Prejean’s Closeup
- Indonesian Moderate Muslims Accept Gays
- Same-Sex Marriage in Argentina
- Rhode Island Governor Says He’s Open To Domestic Partnership Law
- Anti-gay Purdue library prof’s blogging gets press attention
The LGBT Hate Crimes Project
HRC Back Story- Addressing Hate Crimes in Washington, DC
- National Adoption Month Interview: Adoption Benefits
- BREAKING: Committee to hold vote on ENDA
- HRC Launches New HBCU Website, Resources
- National Adoption Month: Making Adoptions Affordable
- BREAKING: LDS church supports inclusive anti-discrimination law
- A Proud Cadre
- National Adoption Month: Finding a Friendly Agency
- LGBT Visibility in the 2010 Census
- New York Marriage Vote Update
The Advocate: Daily News- Conservatives Use Marriage Litmus Test
- Rosie: Kelli Moved Out Two Years Ago
- Hochberg: "Sequencing" Key to LGBT Progress
- Carrie Prejean Has Eight Sex Tapes
- Ian McKellan Talks Gay Rights and Religion
- Hunks Drop Their Lederhosen for Charity
- Ohio Flash Mob for Gay Marriage
- Historic Gay Bar on the Brink of Closing?
- Rev. Ted's OK With Gays
- Partner Benefits Hearing Next Wed
Dallas Voice: Instant Tea- UPDATE: Motorist fled scene after damaging Legacy of Love Monument
- Ministers attack Parker, warning of ‘gay takeover’ of Houston city hall
- Motorist plows through Oak Lawn Triangle, damaging Legacy of Love Monument
- ‘Jack E. Jett’ lineup this weekend
- A taste of The Hidden Cameras and Gentleman Reg before tonight’s show at Hailey’s
- South Carolina stopped from pushing one religion
- ‘You’ll be seeing a lot of me’
- Catholic Archdiocese threatens to end services if D.C. marriage bill passes
- Dallas moves up in gay tourism rankings
- Remington opens art show tonight
