Northern Territory News, Friday, July 26 2002

These boys are killers and I'm proud of them

Mother defends shotgun pair as 'heroes'
By EDWIN EDLUND

Original NT News caption reads: 'Honest young men' ... Ms Ford with Shane Mulhall (left) and David Parker.

A crab fisherman jailed in Alice Springs for manslaughter was branded a "hero" by his mother yesterday. Mother-of-eight Janelle Ford, 41, said her son Shane Robert Mulhall saved the lives of his family and the Boorroloola community by killing Troy Butcher at Wearyan River on the Gulf of Carpentaria in February last year.

Mulhall, 20, and his friend David Vincent Parker, 24, were sentenced in the Supreme Court last week to a five-year jail term but could be paroled by the end of next year. Ms Ford, who described Parker as a stepson, said the pair had no choice but to shoot Butcher with shotguns after he had harmed and threatened to kill the pair and their families on numerous occasions. "I would say they are heroes," she said. "They were out on bail for a year and did nothing wrong. "They went to every court appearance and walked back into Booroloola for court and a few people shook their hands and said they were heroes in the town because a lot of people feared for their lives. "They are honest young men and you wouldn't call them killers, they are victims themselves."

Ms Ford said Butcher was a "nut" who tried to blow up the Booroloola Hotel while it was occupied by 150 people in July 2000. Justice Riley noted this incident in his sentencing remarks and said Butcher unscrewed the hose of a gas cylinder near the hotel kitchen and created a dangerous situation. A disaster was averted but Butcher made it clear at the time he wished he had "lit the gas himself to make sure the job was done". "Had he done so or had the gas been ignited from some other source the result would have been devastating in terms of human suffering and property damage," Justice Riley said. "Police were informed of Mr Butcher's conduct but it seems that no prosecution or other action resulted."

Mum applauds boy's actions

Ms Ford said Butcher could have killed Mulhall and Parker if they did not beat him to it because Butcher was a violent man who had harmed many locals and tourists in the past. "If people knew what the boys went through they would understand they didn't have a choice," she said. "When I found what had happened I was relieved because this guy was a nut." Ms Ford said the lives of Mulhall and Parker had improved since Butcher's death. "I saw the boys in prison in Alice Springs and I was rapt when I saw them," she said. "They looked healthy. They weren't distressed anymore over being frightened. "They weren't black under the eyes and they were eating food."

Boss queries pair's killing sentences
By JOHN LOIZOU

Mr Wright said the dead man was an Aborigine who arrived at his camp from Queensland. "I just wonder what would have happened if the situation had been reversed and two black men had shot a sleeping white man?" he said.

Opinion -- Mick Lambe

In a society built on the killing and marginalization of Aboriginal people, such a verdict is no surprise.

Legally, an argument that using shotguns to kill a sleeping man is "manslaughter" -- and not pre-meditated murder is an absurdity.

So is expecting an Aboriginal life to be given the same weight as a European's life in the Northern Territory.

Which is why the murder charges were dropped. An aquittal would have been an embarrassment to the Northern Territory.

The 'story' of the Aboriginal man's 'bad character' (in July 2000) is a compulsory addendum to his killing. That the Police did not lay charges over the matter is the only legal point worthy of consideration. Instead, the Justice used this prejudicial 'episode' in his summing up.

A blatant case of 'justifying' a murder on hearsay, from a demonstrably racist community.

The whole point of this exercise -- to send out a message to the community, that when it comes to the crunch, the Courts are on the side of those who wish to perpetuate 'Territorian values' and opposed to those who do not.

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