Alabama inmate convicted in 1999 murder of gay man is stabbed to death by another prisoner, officials say

Steven Eric Mullins, 45, was stabbed to death by another inmate last week. (ADOC)

An Alabama inmate who had garnered national attention for his conviction in the 1999 hate crime murder of a gay man was stabbed to death by another prisoner who, himself, is convicted of killing five people, officials said.

Steven Eric Mullins was found unresponsive last Tuesday at St. Clair Correctional Facility and suffering from multiple stab wounds, AL.com reported. The Alabama Department of Corrections said Mullins was taken to the hospital where he died two days later.

Mullins was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the 1999 kidnapping and murder of Billy Jack Gaither, a gay man who the then-25-year-old said he plotted to kill because he made a pass at him.

Mullins and Charles Monroe Butler, then 21, stabbed Gaither and beat him with an ax handle, AL.com reported. They slit Gaither’s throat before dumping his body on a pile of tires and setting it on fire. The hate crime murder received national attention at the time and led to a call to include sexual orientation in the state’s 1994 hate crime law.

Christopher Scott Jones, 50, faces capital murder charges in the stabbing death of Steven Mullins. (ADOC)

Officials said Monday they believe Christopher Scott Jones, 50, stabbed Mullins to death, although the alleged motive was not released. Jones, who will face capital murder charges, was sentenced in 2011 to 25 years in prison for being part of a group of six who killed five men in a murder-for-hire plot, AL.com reported.

He was eligible for parole in August 2023 before last week’s fatal stabbing.