Newspaper Page Text
February 7,1985
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burnt bulletin boards at AGO
Error May Reverse Conklin Death Sentence
SHORTS
NOVA Looks At AIDS
Public television's award winn
ing NOVA series will examine
AIDS-Chapter I in a segment that
will be aired on Channel 30
(WPBA) here in Atlanta at 8pm on
Tuesday February 12th and again at
10am on Saturday February 16th.
NOVA which is produced by
WGBH in Boston is well known for
its extremely attractive and well
produced segments on a wide
variety of subjects in the public
interest.
NCN^s producers say that they
are offering this segment as a non-
hysterical look at the pieces of the
mystery that is AIDS.
The segment will present inter
views with doctors from the CDC
here in Atlanta, as well as inter
views with people involved with
AIDS research in San Francisco,
Washington, and France. The
scientific parts of the show, which
are designed to demystify the sub
ject, are intercut with segments on
several PWAs (persons with AIDS)
in order to ground the show in
reality.
The producers have previewed
the show to several gay groups
who have been enthusiastic about
both its content and metho^of
presentation.
Delay due to
change in
. printers
see
next issue
for details
Seven white, middle-aged men—the
Georgia Supreme Court—heard
arguments last week in Robert Dale
Conklin's second attempt to overturn
the First Degree Murder death sentence
imposed upon him in June for the kill
ing of Atlanta attorney, George Crooks.
In a sensational trial which
underscored the seamier side of gay
life, graphic details of the two mens' sex
lives were overshadowed by the
gruesome facts of the victim's
dismemberment—a botched attempt
by the defendant to dispose of the
body. Television pictures of police and
detectives unloading some dozen black
garbage bags containing the severed
parts of the victim's body from the
dumpster where Conklin tried to hide
them haunted the courtroom.
Although Georgia law considers at
tempts to hide a corpse a separate crime
from the actual murder, the Prosecu
tion in the original trial hammered
away at the goriness of the
dismemberment.
Only one of 144 color photograph-
slides of the severed body parts the Pro
secution attempted to introduce as
evidence was ruled admissable under
Georgia Law by Judge John R.
Langford—that of the victim's head
showing some of the wounds inflicted
in the death struggle. Conklin insists he
was fighting off a rape attack.
However, when the Jury returned to
the courtroom, a second slide showing
the victim's head with the scalp peeled
back by the Coroner to show bruises to
Crooks' skull was briefly shown to the
Jurors. This slide had been ruled inad-
(continued, page 6)
AGC Offices
Vandalized
Six times last summer the Atlanta Gay
Center has been broken into and van
dalized, including twice during January.
Most recently, on January 19, vandals
cut the Center's telephone lines and set
fire to the bulletin boards in the hallway,
as well as upsetting furniture and scatter
ing brochures. They were not successful
in breaking into any of the offices or
classrooms, however.
Just after New Year's Day, vandals rip
ped out telephone cords, trashed the of
fice space used by the The News, and
damaged some of the newspaper's
typesetting equipment.
During the previous four break-ins, a
refrigerator, a dock radio, and an AIDS
information box were stolen, furniture
was ransacked, door vents were kicked
out, and attempts were made to break in
to cabinets in the classroom areas and in
to the Clinic.
As a result of these inadents increased
police patrols have been initiated and
fingerprints and other physical evidence
are being evaluated. Fblice have respond
ed quickly and cooperaively to reports of
the attacks and have proposed a number
of security precautions which are being
phased in with a view toward capturing
those responsible. Although most of the
steps are not being disdosed, precau
tions include improved locks and
physical "hardening" of doors and other
accesses to the Center, more random
visits at unscheduled times by a number
of AGC Volunteers, officers, and staff
personnel, and other kinds of
surveillance of the building.
The inddents have taken place during
a period of expansion for AGC services
and activities.
"We never had much of a problem
when we were less active" said Bill
Gripp, AGC Board Chairperson.
"Perhaps our programs are having an ef-
fed that someone does not like. It seems
evident that someone objects to our in
creased services, but we do not know the
source of the opposition so far"
"We are determined that no person or
group of persons will interfere with our
activities or prevent us from meeting our
commitments. We call on the lesbian and
gay community to support us in resisting
these assults and in maintaining our in
creasing level of activities. With the con
tinued support of the community, no
onO can stop us" Gripp said.
GeneKoland
