Every February 19th, we at Back2Stonewall remember the horrific hate crime murder of Billy Jack Gaither of Sylacauga, Alabama who was beat, set, on fire and had his throat cut in 1999 by racist skinheads Steve Mullins and his buddy, a construction worker named Charles Butler’

Now two decades later Steve Mullins is in the news again.

The Birmingham Herald reports:

A 45-year-old man convicted in the 1999 hate crime murder of Billy Jack Gaither has been killed in an Alabama prison.

Steven Eric Mullins [photo] was found unresponsive Feb. 26 at St. Clair Correctional Facility, Alabama Department of Corrections officials announced Monday.

The Department of Corrections’ Investigations and Intelligence Division is filing capital murder charges against 50-year-old Christopher Scott Jones who is a suspect in the fatal stabbing.

Mullins was serving a life sentence without parole. His alleged killer is a serving a 25-year sentence for five murders in 2008.

The murder of Billy Jack Gaither spawned a push for LGBT-inclusion in hate crime laws in some states, including Alabama.

Every year there has been an annual vigil to celebrate Billy Jack Gaither’s life, mourn his death, and remember all the victims of  hate & violence on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol.