Cleared, Christian preachers who told shoppers: Being gay is immoral and Mohammed’s a liar
Two Christian street preachers who were fined £300 each over a sermon they gave to shoppers have won appeals against their convictions.
Michael overd, 53, and former US marine Michael Stockwell, 51, had been found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence.
The men were filmed shouting phrases such as ‘Mohammed is a liar’ and telling shoppers being gay was ‘immoral’ while preaching in Bristol.
But both men, who are street preachers rather than ordained vicars, insisted they were simply reading from the King James Bible – and denied aiming hostility at other faiths or sexualities.
This week they successfully appealed against their conviction and sentence.
Judge Martin Picton said Mr Stockwell, from Selden in New York, ‘did no more than express his no doubt sincerely held religious beliefs’.
He said Mr overd, of Creech St Michael, Somerset, seemed to take some satisfaction in ‘work- ing the crowd’, but had not committed a public order offence.
In July last year, the men preached at Broadmead shopping centre about Islam, Buddhism, and even Jehovah’s witnesses, as well as sex before marriage and homosexuality.
one witness claimed they were there ‘to pick a fight’, adding that the incident, in front of up to 100 people, took place on the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid.
Prosecutors said there was ‘considerable’ hostility from the crowd, and the men refused to turn down their amplifier after being asked to do so by a nearby trader. The crowd then chanted ‘go home’ at the men before police came and arrested them.
Footage from a body camera worn by Mr overd was shown to the court. In the video, Mr Stockwell said: ‘Allah is the greatest deceiver – that’s in the Koran.’
He added: ‘You will die for your sins and be cast into hell.’ Mr overd told the crowd: ‘Mohammed is a liar and a thief, just like you and
‘My heart bleeds for this country’
me. Buddha isn’t on the cross – he is a liar, just like you and me.’
He said sex before marriage was immoral and that it used to be a shameful thing to get divorced. ‘David Cameron is no more a Christian than my dogs,’ he added.
In February at Bristol Magistrates’ Court, the men were each given a £300 fine, ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and shared prosecution costs of £3,372 – totalling £2,016 each.
But after a two- day hearing at Bristol Crown Court in front of Judge Picton and two magistrates they won their appeal.
The judge said he and the magistrates found the prosecution had not proved the preachers showed hostility to members of another religious group.
After the case, Mr Stockwell said: ‘I feel elated it is over. My heart is still for the Bristol people, and that they will be able to hear the gospel being preached on the streets.’
Mr overd said: ‘This is not an isolated case. How many times must we go to court before there is respect for the law? My heart bleeds for this country. But I am a patriot and I will be back on the streets to preach. I am a Christian soldier and I rejoice in this prosecution.’
Andrea williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre which has been supporting the men, said the ruling was a ‘victory for freedom of speech’.
She added: ‘ The Bible and its teachings are the foundation of our society and provided many of the freedoms and protections that we still enjoy today.
‘At a time where Christians are becoming increasingly fearful about expressing their beliefs in public, this is a welcome result.’
In February 2012, Mr overd was cleared of harassing a gay couple on Taunton High Street in Somerset after telling them homosexuals would ‘ burn in hell’ and calling them sinners.