From: Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 17:40:05 -0500 Subject: NGLTF PRESS: Conviction in Laurel Murder Trial ************************************************* National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NEWS RELEASE Contact: Robin Kane (202) 332-6483 ext. 3311 (800) 757-7736 pager Beth Barrett (202) 332-6483 ext. 3215 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 ************************************************* CONVICTION IN LAUREL MURDER TRIAL Jury Rejects HIV and Gay Panic Defense Washington, D.C. -- February 13, 1995 -- Rejecting the HIV and gay panic arguments of the defense, a jury convicted Marvin McClendon, 17, Friday for the slaying of two gay men near Laurel, Mississippi . Circuit Judge Billy Landrum, who earlier had released the HIV status of both victims to the jury, sentenced McClendon to two consecutive life prison terms for the murders of Robert Walters and Joseph Shoemake. The defense attorney, J. Ronald Parrish, whose legal defense strategy included arguments based on the the HIV status and sexual orientation of the victims, continued his anti-gay tirade after the trial. Parrish decried the verdict, calling it a defeat for "people who want to keep their children safe from people trolling the streets." "NGLTF is pleased that the jury saw past the AIDS-phobic and homophobic rhetoric presented by the defense in this case." said Beth Barrett, NGLTF spokesperson. "The jury recognized that HIV status is never an excuse for murder." "It is unfortunate that, even after the trial, the defense attorney continues to use outdated stereotypes and homophobia in an attempt to defame the gay and lesbian community of Mississippi," Barrett added. NGLTF will continue to monitor developments in Mississippi. Organizers point to the murder of a third gay man under strikingly similar circumstances in Indianola and the potential for continued tension at the lesbian-feminist retreat, Camp Sister Spirit, in Ovett, as reasons for their concern. "Given the murders and the history of harassment in Mississippi, we continue to be deeply concerned for the safety of gay men and lesbians in that state," Barrett said. A 12 member jury, including five African-American jurors, convicted McClendon, who is black, of the murders of the two white men. Their bodies were discovered near a railroad track outside of Laurel, Mississippi on October 8, 1994. -end-