The man convicted of manslaughter in the beating death of a gay man has been sentenced to six years in prison for his part in the attack.

Ryan Cran, 22, was found guilty in December in the beating death of Aaron Webster in Vancouver's Stanley Park.

In his sentencing Tuesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mary Humphries said the attack on Webster was a "random, cowardly and terrifying act."

Webster died November 2001 after being brutally beaten with baseball bats, a pool cue and a golf club.

He was attacked in an area of the park where gays reportedly met to have sex.

The 41-year-old photographer was discovered naked, except for his hiking boots.

The gay community and members of Webster's family wanted the Crown to deem the killing a hate crime. That would have given the judge the discretion to impose a stricter sentence than would otherwise be handed down.

Instead, the prosecution looked at the crime as one against an individual, not a group. 

Prosecutor Greg Weber said Webster was targeted because he was naked in Stanley Park.

Weber asked the judge to sentence Cran to six to nine years for his role in the attack.

In protest of the Crown's decision not to argue the killing was a hate crime, dozens of Webster's supporters stood up in court during Cran's sentencing hearing. One man booed the lawyer, and another man yelled out, "This was a hate crime."

The defence asked for a term of two to four years for Cran.

Two youths, who cannot be identified because they were young offenders at the time of the crime, were also convicted of manslaughter in the case.

Both received the maximum sentence possible -- three years -- two-thirds of which must be served in closed custody.

A fourth accused man was acquitted after the judge decided a pair of witnesses had given false testimony against him.

With files from The Canadian Press