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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1994)
national news O ▼ o c t o b « r 2 1 . 100 4 ▼ ju s t o u « Hate crime in Mississippi M A R BRIAN MARKI FRAMING A FULL SERVICE CUSTOM FRAME SHOP Tues-Sat 10-6 & by appointment 2236 NE Broadway, Portland 503-249-5659 TW ENTY-ONE YEARS EXPERIENCE A youth is charged with the murder of two gay men in Laurel , Miss. SYDNEY MARDI GRAS FEB. 23 call - for MAR. 6. 1995 details 1939 SE Hawthorne Blvd 232-5944 WHEEL ALIGNM ENTS & TIRES 2454 E. BURNSIDE • PORTLAND, OR 97214 Family Oivned & Operated Since 1952 MenTalk FOR Y O U R FRIENDS • Invite your friends. • Clean your place. • Provide a snack. T H A T 'S A LL Y O U DO— WE DO T H E R ES T. I SPEAK TO YOUR I wan j i 223*6339 l ^ j ^ j CXI lO U I b _ r _ q _V h , l r.J S p e a k T o Y o u r B ro th e rs is a p ro je ct of the M en's H IV P re ve n tio n P ro gra m at C a s c a d e A ID S P roject. by Bob Roehr Continued from page I he Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Martin Luther King Jr., has joined the call for outside intervention in the case on behalf of McLindone, citing Mississippi’s abysmal record on “race and the criminal justice sys tem.” “The case of the execution- style murder of two alleged ho mosexuals and the 16-year-old arrested for their murders in cludes a multitude of inconsis tencies and raises more questions than it answers,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, SCLC president. Laurel is home to about half of the 25,000 residents of rural Jones County. Camp Sister Spirit, the controversial feminist retreat, lies in Ovett, about a half-hour drive to the southeast. Jones County Sheriff Maurice Hooks, who is white, acknowl edged the fact that the murder victims were gay and has downplayed it as not relevant to the investigation. He denies that the murders were a hate crime and theorizes that robbery was the motive. He asserts that $100 was missing from one of the de ceased men. The sheriff does not explain how he arrived at that sum, nor does he discuss the facts that the victims were found wear ing watches and diamond rings and that their sissippians expressing fear of further homophobic blood-spattered truck was discovered a short dis violence. tance away. The version of the incident that Emerson and Those facts do not support a robbery motive. Richard have been able to piece together is that The single bullets at close range are the mark of an Walters and Shoemaker worked together. They execution-style, premeditated murder, not a rob were attending a potluck dinner with their respec bery gone awry. tive lovers and other local lesbians and gay men. Rex McKey, identified by the local newspaper Reportedly, they left to purchase additional sup as a friend of Walters (and by some as his lover), plies for the gathering. That was the last time they said that the family and friends of the murdered were seen alive. men are upset with the national attention the case The perilous position of Emerson and Richard is attracting. Their nervousness can be read as a was reinforced when, during a phone conference barometer of the local reaction to the media atten with eight others at NGLTF, a housekeeping crew tion as the insular com knocked at the door de munity circles its wag “The case of the execution-style manding they clear out ons. within the hour. murder of two alleged Todd Emerson and Emerson and Richard April Richard are lead- homosexuals and the 16-year-old felt that the crew were ers of G.L. Friendly, a arrested far their murders includes actually sheriffs, as one lesbian and gay com- a multitude of inconsistencies and wore a watch that was mumty center on the raises more questions than it ¡^,e.!ed “hlghway pa' Gulf Coast. They trav eled north to Laurel af answers, ” said the Rev. Joseph Richard said that ter receiving several police had followed Lowery, SCLC president. phone calls about the them as they drove, and murder. They want to ensure that the murders are that Sheriff Hooks had warned them not to “stir up not covered up but are thoroughly investigated. “If things” or he would “drive them out of the county.” that’s not done, we could be next,” said Emerson. Myron Marlin, spokesman for the Justice De Emerson and Richard have remained in Laurel, partment, said regarding FBI intervention, “We pressing the sheriff on point after point of the are aware of the situation and are trying to deter investigation. mine if there is any federal jurisdiction. There is no “The local folks are just scared to death and not federal law outlawing violence against individuals talking, said Richard. That sentiment was echoed on the basis of sexual orientation.” by residents alCamp Sister Spirit. TTiey reported ' i~ r ___■. . . / A f - ___. ¡A - numerous phone calls from lesbian and gay Mis- Renee LaChance contributed to this article. T Myron Marlin, spokesman for the Justice Department, said regarding FBI intervention, “There is no federal law outlawing violence against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation. ”
