Date: Wed, 21 Dec 1994 17:22:18 -0500 From: Babngltf@aol.com *************************************************National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NEWS RELEASE Contact: Beth Barrett (202) 332-6483 ext. 3215 (800) 757-7736 pager 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 ************************************************* A THIRD GAY MAN FOUND DEAD IN MISSISSIPPI "More going on than meets the eye," Paras Tells Reno Washington, D.C. -- December 21, 1994 -- The body of a third gay man was discovered Sunday, December 11 in Mississippi, just two months after the brutal killings of Robert Walters and Joseph Shoemake in Laurel. The body of Stanley King was discovered near a vacant house in Indianola, Mississippi, approximately 100 hundred miles north of Laurel. Within hours of the discovery, the Sunflower County Sheriff's Department arrested Remus Terrell Wilson, 17, on charges of armed robbery and murder. The circumstances of the case are strikingly similar to those of the Walters and Shoemake murders: the victim was a gay man, Wilson, an African American youth, has confessed to the crime and has used the explanation that the victim tried to rape him as justification for the murder. In a letter sent today to Attorney General Janet Reno, NGLTF Executive Director Melinda Paras updated the Department of Justice on the latest killing and reiterated NGLTF's ongoing request for a separate DOJ investigation. "From our point of view," said Paras, "there is more going on in Mississippi than meets the eye." Paras said that she is "greatly distressed" by the developing pattern of deaths in Mississippi and finds it "difficult to imagine that this is merely a coincidence." In a November 30 response to previous NGLTF requests for DOJ intervention in Mississippi, Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick wrote that while the DOJ continued to monitor developments related to the murders in Jones County that federal intervention was not possible on the basis of sexual orientation. "As you know," wrote the assistant attorney general, "there are no federal laws providing criminal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation, thus we would not be able to respond on that basis. However, in the event the investigation indicates that existing federal laws might have been violated, we will take appropriate action." In her response today, Paras said, "NGLTF encourages the DOJ to find other grounds for federal intervention. What is important is that gay men are dying and it is time to go in." "Violence against gay men and lesbians in Mississippi is an out of control problem that local officials seem unable to handle," Paras said. "We strongly believe that the truth of this situation has not yet been discovered and fear that, without federal intervention, the pattern of violence and killing will continue." In his letter to NGLTF, Patrick indicated that the DOJ had contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. Patrick also acknowledged an NGLTF request for a DOJ task force to investigate the rise in hate crimes across the nation. He called the suggestion a "good one" and pledged to explore the creation of a such a commission. Lesbian and gay activists in Biloxi, Mississippi have since said that they were contacted by local FBI agents and as a result have been granted Biloxi police protection at the G.L. Friendly community center. They had previously reported receiving death threats and harassment due to their continued monitoring of the double murder case in Jones County. On Tuesday, December 20, Jones County Circuit Judged Billy Landrum heard arguments in a pre-trial hiring in the case of Marvin McClendon, the 16 year-old African American arrested for the double murders of Robert Walters and Joseph Shoemake. The county district attorney argued that the sexual orientation of the victims and the results of post-mortem HIV tests should not be admitted as evidence in the January 30 murder trial. Landrum shocked activists in November when he agreed to a motion by the defense attorney to conduct HIV tests on the frozen blood of the victims and to consider the use of those results in court. In yesterday's pre-trial hearing, Landrum said he would admit information on the sexual orientation of the two victims in court, but postponed his decision on the admission of the HIV testing results. Landrum may announce that decision on Thursday, December 22nd at 5:00 pm CST, when the court reconvenes. Activists fear that the defense attorney may use a gay panic defense and posthumous HIV testing in an attempt to play on the fears of a potentially homophobic and AIDS-phobic jury. In what may be an attempt to pit the people of color communities against the gay and lesbian community, the defense attorney has also verbally attacked gay and lesbian activists who have been critical of the Mississippi legal system. "The defense attorney is exploiting the evils of racism and the evils of homophobia in an attempt to cloud justice in support of his client," said Beth Barrett, NGLTF spokesperson. "The Task Force wants justice for all parties and continues to have no confidence in the legal system of Jones County." -end-