Unfinished Lives

Remembering LGBT Hate Crime Victims

Conversion of a Cop: How Matt Shepard’s Murder Convinced a Policeman to Change

Sheriff Dave O'Malley (News 5 photo)

Cleveland, Ohio – In a startlingly frank address to police and federal agents, Sheriff Dave O’Malley challenged law enforcement officers to change their anti-gay attitudes towards hate crimes victims.  O’Malley, who was Chief of Police of Laramie, Wyoming in October 1998 when University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was murdered, confessed he harbored serious homophobic feelings against LGBTQ people at one time, feelings that changed as a consequence of what he learned in the course of his investigation into the hate crime that took Shepard’s life.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that O’Malley admitted to telling gay jokes and having serious prejudice against queer folk before the infamous murder of the 21-year-old gay man by two local Laramie men.  Speaking to a packed house of 250  law men and women, prosecuting attorneys, and federal agents in Cleveland on November 15, O’Malley said that back in 1998, “I was fully homophobic. Mean-spirited. ‘Faggot’ came out of my mouth as easily as ‘I love you’ to my children.”  The gruesome nature of the attack on Matthew Shepard, solely because he was gay, by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson shocked the hard-bitten Wyoming lawman.  Shepard suffered “injuries like I had never seen before,” O’Malley told the rapt audience at what has come to be known in Ohio as the annual “hate crimes conference,” sponsored by the Northern District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the local branch of the FBI.  He also saw the anguish of Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, as they had to face the worst thing that ever could happen to a child–the brutal killing of their son because of homophobia.  Now, O’Malley says he thinks of the Shepards every time he hugs his own son, thankful for the life of his child, but sorrowing for the senseless loss they suffered.  Matthew Shepard’s murder shocked the conscience of the nation in 1998, leading to the eventual passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by the United States Congress in 2009.  McKinney and Henderson were convicted of the murder, and are serving life sentences.  Through the years, there have been various attempts to rewrite the story of Matthew Shepard’s murder, including an exposé by ABC News 20/20 that suggested “new evidence”–that young Shepard was killed inadvertently in a drug purchase gone sour, rather than as an anti-gay hate crime.  O’Malley rejects the 20/20 thesis, and from first-hand investigative experience declares that the chief motive for the killing was prejudice against Shepard because he was gay.  WEWS News 5, the local ABC affiliate, reports O’Malley urged law enforcement officers to set aside their prejudices against LGBTQ people, remembering that all people are fully human and have human rights.  The chief way to combat hate crimes of all kinds is to change the hearts and minds of investigators and prosecutors, O’Malley told the crowd; and then the effort must be made to stop the purveyors of hate. “If somebody could cure the hate-teachers, you could make a dent” in the problem, said O’Malley.  Now O’Malley is Sheriff of Albany County, where Laramie is the county seat.  Federal hate crimes law has become one of his top concerns, he explained to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  “Why is this legislation important?” O’Malley asked. “Because there are places in our country where, if you’re queer, you deserve what you get. If you happen to be gay, we may not investigate as well. We may not prosecute. I’m hoping that stops.”  Attendees say that because of O’Malley’s powerful, graphic speech, they will have to re-examine their attitudes toward minorities like LGBTQ people.  Sheriff O’Malley changed from a homophobe to an advocate for human rights for all people.  That would be the ultimate good outcome from the outrageous murder of a young gay man whose only offense was living as the person he truly was.

November 17, 2010 Posted by | anti-LGBT hate crime murder, Beatings and battery, Bludgeoning, FBI, gay men, Hate Crimes, hate crimes prevention, hate speech, Heterosexism and homophobia, Law and Order, Legislation, Matthew Shepard, Matthew Shepard Act, Ohio, Perpetrators of Hate Crime, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, Wyoming | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ohio Hate Murder Revisited After Six Years: Justice for Gregory Beauchamp

 

Jerry Jones, 28, indicted for 2002 New Year's Eve Murder of Gregory Beauchamp

Jerry Jones, 28, indicted for 2002 New Year's Eve Murder of Gregory Beauchamp

 

On New Year’s Eve 2002, a dark blue Cadillac pulled up to the corner of West Liberty and Vine Streets in Cincinnati beside two cross-dressed friends as they walked to a party.  Taunts erupted from the car at the two homosexual men, “Fuckin’ faggot-assed bitches!”  Then somebody in the Caddy pulled a trigger, and Gregory Beauchamp, 21, fell fatally wounded in the chest.  He was pronounced dead on the scene.

 

Hate Murder Victim Gregory Beauchamp, 21, wanted to be a fashion designer.

Hate Murder Victim Gregory Beauchamp, 21, wanted to be a fashion designer.

 

Now, thanks to the work of the Cincinnati Cold Case Unit, Jerry Jones, 28, has been indicted for Beauchamp’s murder.  Jones was already in custody at a Dayton, Ohio detention facility on unrelated charges.  In 2003, though he had been arrested for killing Beauchamp, the grand jury failed to indict him.  The years have not dimmed the pain Beauchamp’s friends still feel for his loss.  His friend Dontae refuses to forgive Jones: “This is so sad what they did to Gregory.  I miss him so much!  The guy who took his life don’t think how much he meant to us.  He took my best friend [away from me] that night.”  

 

Curtis Johnson holds photo of his friend, Gregory Beauchamp.

Curtis Johnson holds photo of his friend, Gregory Beauchamp. (Steven Heppich photo)

 

Gregory Beauchamp was the 65th homicide of the year in Cincinnati, and the last one for 2002.  Curtis Johnson remembers the night as if it were yesterday.  He told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he was on his way to meet Beauchamp at the party. “He just died in the street–it’s just terrible.  I just want people to know he’s more than just the 65th victim.  He loved clothes, music, he could sew.  He was just a good person.  Being black and gay in Cincinnati is tough.”

Beauchamp’s brutal murder sparked a movement in Cincinnati that culminated in the passage of a municipal hate crime statute.  Now his friends may get to see justice done for the gentle man who loved to wear women’s clothing and dreamed of studying fashion design in California.

May 9, 2009 Posted by | African Americans, gay men, gun violence, Hate Crime Statistics, Hate Crimes, Ohio, Perpetrators of Hate Crime, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons | | 2 Comments

Homophobia Kills Straight People, Too

Eric Mohat, 17, committed suicide after merciless homophobic bullying at school. He was straight.

Eric Mohat, 17, committed suicide after merciless homophobic bullying at school. He was straight.

Mentor, OH: The parents of a 17-year-old straight son who was bullied in school so relentlessly for being homosexual that he killed himself filed suit in federal court on March 27, 2009 against the school system and officials who witnessed the name-calling, hitting, and pushing, but did nothing to protect the boy.  Eric Mohat, whose nickname was “Twiggy,” was a tall, skinny boy who loved to play the piano, had a wonky sense of humor, and loved the theatre.  The harassment proved too much to bear.  A bully shouted at him in class on March 29, 2007, “Why don’t you go home and shoot yourself!  No one will miss you!”  Eric did.

Eric strikes a pose for the Yearbook

Eric strikes a pose for the Yearbook

He went home, took out his father’s legally registered handgun, locked himself in the room, and shot himself in the head.  His parents, William and Janis Mohat of Mentor, Ohio, allege that the suicides of three other youths at Mentor Senior High School, that occurred shortly after their son’s death, are also due to excessive bullying. Though the Mohats are seeking no punitive damages in their suit, they insist that the school system acknowledge the problem of homophobic bullying and address it effectively.  School officials defend the operation of the 2,900 student school in an eastern exuburb of Cleveland, saying that they had already instituted a form of anti-bullying education, and took appropriate steps to address Eric’s fears when he brought them to their attention.  Countering, friends of Eric’s attest that teachers and administrators saw what was happening to Eric and others, and in effect turned a blind eye.  They say Eric was relentlessly badgered in class, and called “fag,” “homo,” “nancy boy,” and “queer” right in front of his teachers.  Most of the bullying took place in a math class where the teacher, who is an athletic coach, failed to protect Eric.  Experts on anti-bullying education note that the program the Mentor school is using has questionable results with homophobic jock culture when it is entrenched in a school or community.

Eric's MySpace pic, a gift from his sister, Erin

Eric's MySpace pic, a gift from his sister, Erin

His older sister Erin, whom Eric called his hero, heard the shot from another room where she was exercising on a treadmill.  In a blog, Erin wrote about losing her little brother: “It’s so surreal. I just keep thinking he’ll walk through the front door, bouncy as always, and say, ‘Oh the wound wasn’t that serious, they patched me up just fine.’ But I know better. The coroner has called and asked to use pieces of his heart to save three children’s lives, and his corneas too. The police were there to tell me, yes he was dead. But I knew from the moment I found him. I didn’t want to admit it because I was still hoping that just maybe my mind was playing tricks on me…. but that’s not the case and I knew it the moment I saw all that blood and I saw part of his brain on that floor. I can’t get it out of my head. The image of it all makes me sick but even with my eyes wide open I can see it.”  Now Erin, who is 21, is studying to be a school psychologist.

Eric’s dad told ABC reporters, “When you lose a child like this it destroys you in ways you can’t even describe.”  He and his wife have opened their hearts and their home to any child contemplating suicide, just so no one will have to believe that she or he is alone and afraid.

The Columbine tragedy in Colorado, and numerous other shootings across the country demonstrate the negative effects of homophobic epithets and name-calling.  Recent studies, including those carried out by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (www.glsen.org), show that youth who are bullied in school have a five to nine times higher incidence of suicide than those who do not suffer it.

Shrine to Eric in Mentor, Ohio, by his friends

Shrine to Eric in Mentor, Ohio, by his friends

Homophobia kills.  LGBT folk are the primary targets of violent hate crimes due to homophobia and heterosexism.  But as Eric Mohat’s story illustrates, the toll of murder and suicide is mounting for straight youth, too.  When will the madness stop?  Not until good people get involved and clamor for anti-bullying laws and hate crimes statutes.

Just days before the suicide, Eric Mohat told his mother, “I get picked on every day and I’ve got a whole nine weeks left. I can’t do this anymore.”

“We never had a chance to help him,” she said, choking back tears.

“It shouldn’t require legal action to get the school system to pay more attention to bullying than they do to their sports programs,” said his father. “How many suicides is enough?”

April 5, 2009 Posted by | harassment, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Legislation, Mistaken as LGBT, Ohio, Popular Culture, Slurs and epithets | Comments Off on Homophobia Kills Straight People, Too

Pattern of severe of anti-LGBT violence increases nationwide

stop hate hand

The Hate Crimes Bill has provided an excellent summary of a new report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs showing anti-LGBT violence has been on the rise since the murder of Lawrence “Larry” King in Oxnard, California, at the beginning of this year.

“The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) reports a recent rash of at least 13 brutal and violent hate crimes that have occurred throughout the country on the heels of the murder of 15 year-old Lawrence King in Los Angeles and the brutal beating of Duanna Johnson, both in February of 2008,” says the Hate Crimes Bill’s website. “NCAVP reports that these hate crimes may indicate a frightening trend of increases in both the number and severity of anti-LGBT violence.”

The NCAVP findings come after several anti-LGBT hate crimes, including the police beating of a transgender woman in Memphis, Tennessee; the harassment and beating of a gay man on a New York subway; the murder of a transgender woman in Memphis, Tennessee; the alleged police beating of a gay man in Greeley, Colorado; the beating of a priest in Queens, New York, for protecting a group of LGBT youth living at a shelter for homeless youth; the midnight home-invasion and arson, in Central New York, by a self-proclaimed Neo-Nazi, who targeted a sleeping 65-year-old gay man (the victim was able to flee the home, unhurt); the fatal bludgeoning of 18-year-old Angie Zapata, a transgender Latina woman in Greeley, Colorado; the beating of gay man Jimmy Lee Dean, in Dallas, Texas, whose injuries were so severe that he was in intensive care and could not be interviewed or identified until five days after the crime; the severe injury of a man in upstate New York, whose two assailants beat, kicked, and shouted anti-gay slurs until they had broken ten bones in their victim’s face; the attack against an 18-year-old living in St Helens, in the United Kingdom, who died a week later from his injuries; the (at least partially) anti-gay-motivated shooting rampage in a Knoxville, Tennessee, church that claimed two lives and wounded seven others; the mob-beating and stabbing of a man perceived to be gay in Staten Island, New York; the ongoing and escalating harassment (for nearly 8 years) of a gay male couple living in Cleveland, Ohio, by anti-gay neighbors; and the ongoing and escalating harassment (for nearly 20 years) of a gay male couple living in a rural Pennsylvania town, who have suffered incidents of gunfire, vandalism, stalking, acts of intimidation, and the indifference from local police.

In a grim coincidence, more than one anti-LGBT hate crime has occurred in both Memphis, Tennessee, and Greeley, Colorado, since the beginning of 2008.

Unfinished Lives also offers our own analysis of the significance of anti-LGBT hate-crime statistics in the United States. The NCAVP’s findings and the Hate Crimes Bill’s detailed summary confirm what has been a growing concern for LGBT persons living in the United States.

August 19, 2008 Posted by | Arson, Beatings and battery, Bludgeoning, Colorado, gun violence, harassment, Hate Crime Statistics, Hate Crimes, home-invasion, mob-violence and lynching, multiple homicide, Neo-Nazis and White Supremacy, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, police brutality, religious intolerance, stabbings, stalking, Stomping and Kicking Violence, Tennessee, Texas, vandalism | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pattern of severe of anti-LGBT violence increases nationwide

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