High alert for sentencing on Aborigine's killing

THEmanslaughter of an Aboriginal ranger by five white men has stirred race tensions in Alice Springs.

ALICE Springs is on high alert this morning as five young white men aged 19 to 25 face sentencing over the bashing death of an Aboriginal trainee ranger, in a case that has set racial tensions seething in the troubled central Australian town.

Timothy Hird, Joshua Benjamin Spears, Anton Kloeden, Glen Anthony Swain and Scott John Doody -- all members of respectable Central Australian families -- have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 33-year-old Donny Kwementyaye Ryder beside the Todd River last July.

According to evidence given in court, the five men had been on a 12-hour drinking binge and attacked Ryder after he threw a bottle at their white Hilux utility.

Dubbed the "Ute Five", the men have been in protective custody at the Alice Springs jail for the past eight months. The jail population is 80 per cent Abriginal. Kloeden's lawyer, Russell Goldflam, said one Aboriginal prisoner made regular throat-slashing gestures at his client, while another had threatened to chop off Kloeden's head and cook him like a kangaroo.

A Northern Territory Justice Department spokeswoman said extra security would be in place when NT Chief Justice Brian Martin passes sentence this morning.

In an unusual step, Chief Justice Martin is allowing cameras to record his sentencing remarks, which are expected to canvass the role of race hate in the crime.

Alice Springs police played down the likelihood of trouble breaking out at the courthouse today, but said they would monitor the situation.

"The police have been closely liaising with the families. We've got plenty of staff on. We've also got police on the beat in the Mall," a spokeswoman said.

Terence Hird, the 64-year-old father of Hird, was in no mood to speak about the case yesterday. "Go and find out for yourselves," he told The Australian.

Karen Liddle, Ryder's sister-in-law and spokeswoman for his mother, Therese Ryder, said the family was hoping for a big turnout at the sentencing.

"Hopefully we'll get 20 family members there," she said. "We had a good showing at the first hearing. We should have their support again."

"The main thing is that justice is done to the satisfaction of the families," Ms Liddle said.

Alice Springs Mayor Damien Ryan rejected suggestions it was a racist town.

"Other people say that, but I've lived here all my life and I enjoy living in the town. I have lots of friends in this community."

Chief Justice Martin raised the question of race during the case, asking whether the men would have reacted the same way had Ryder been white. Before bashing Ryder, the five men drove recklessly through two Aboriginal camps in the Todd's dry river bed, narrowly missing running over an elderly man in one. Kloeden, who was driving, pleaded guilty to the additional charge of endangering life for this offence.

When Ryder threw a bottle at the car, Swain, Spears and Hird chased him down before kicking and bashing him to death.

In sentencing submissions last week, lawyers for the five men said their clients counted Aboriginal people among their friends and colleagues.