Family marks tenth anniversary of Aaron Webster’s death
Posted November 17, 2011 11:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Ten years ago, the violent death of a gay man in Stanley Park shook the West End community to its core.
But for Aaron Webster’s family, it’s an occasion to mark some positive changes that have resulted from his death.
Webster’s cousin Denise Norman recalls the rallies and vigils held in his name in the days and weeks following his death. She says the biggest change has been the relationship between the gay community and police.
“At that time the gay community distrusted the police. I know that because Aaron told me himself. They didn’t take crimes against gays seriously enough. Aaron’s death illustrated that this was a big problem,” she points out.
That criticism spurred public meetings, and ultimately resulted in the addition of sexual orientation in hate crimes legislation.
Four young men were implicated in the murder. Two were youths at the time, and were sentenced to only two years in jail for the crime. Norman admits the family is still upset by their short sentences, but takes comfort in having met the youths, through the restorative justice program.
“We were really impressed that they were willing to meet with us, because they were the younger ones involved in the crime. After speaking with them, I really thought they understood what they had done,” she explains, noting that the one adult convicted in the crime, Ryan Cran, was sentenced to a six year term for manslaughter. Another adult was acquitted.
A housing co-op and a memorial fund have also been named after Webster. “Aaron would probably be really, really embarrassed by all of this. He was very, very shy and kept to himself,” Norman says.
She adds it’s still difficult to explain to her kids why Aaron isn’t around, and says they they’re sad they won’t ever get to know him.
