Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN
\OCE
Vol. 1, No. 19
Taking Pride in Our Culture
November 10,1988
Appalachian Trail Killer
Gets Life Sentence
Judge Disallows "Homosexual Panic" Defense
Gettysburg, /M-Stcphen Roy Carr was
found guilty Thursday, October 27th, of
first-degree murder in the shooting death of
a lesbian who was camping on the
Appalachian Trail with her lover.
Rebecca Wight, 28, was killed in the
May 13th attack that took place while she
and her lover, Claudia Brenner, were lying
in a tent on the Rocky Knob Trail.
Brenner was shot five times in the arm,
head, neck and upper back, and Wight was
shot several minutes later when the women
no parole in a maximum security prison,
while not compensating for our tremendous
loss and pain, is the appropriate response to
a nightmare that nothing can ever make
right," Brenner said.
District Attorney Keefer said that he, too,
was pleased with the outcome of the case.
"Our chances of getting the death penalty
were not great," he said.
Activists in Brenner's hometown of
Ithaca, NY, responded to charges that
Wight and Brenner "provoked" the attack
by holding the city's largest-ever lesbian and
gay demonstration on June 27th.
They charged that the attack was
motivated by homophobia, that the suspect
in the case was using the "homosexual
panic defense," and that the local press
coverage was one-sided and
sensationalistic.
The homosexual panic defense,
according to Kevin Berrill, Director of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's
Anti-Violence Project, is a tactic that is not
uncommon.
"The basic message behind the defense is
to blame the victim. This is why it is
important to stand up to the tactic," said
Berrill.
Had the case gone to trial, Carr's lawyers
would not have been allowed to argue that
their client was provoked. At an earlier
hearing, Common Pleas Court Judge Oscar
Spicer ruled that the women's sexual
activity could not be considered legal
provocation.
-Wendy Morse
ACLU Challenges Helms Amendment
Suit Says Ban of Federal Funds for Materials that Promote Homosexuality is Unconstitutional
New York-A coalition of AIDS educators
filed suit October 20th challenging the
constitutionality of federal legislation know
as the Helms amendment that forbids the
federal funding of educational material that
"promotes or encourages homosexual
activities." The suit, filed in federal court in
New York by the ACLU and Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR), alleges that
the amendment violates the first amendment
rights to free expression of AIDS educators.
AIDS Service organizations claim in the
suit that "the ability to promote and
encourage healthy sexual alternatives" for
gay men is limited by the amendment.
Materials which graphically depict gay male
sexuality are "essential to life-saving
behavior changes," according to the suit.
Plaintiffs in the case are Gay Men's
Health Crisis (GMHC), the Hetrick-Martin
Institute and the Fund for Human Dignity,
all of New York; Horizons Community
Services in Chicago; and the San Antonio
Tavern Guild AIDS Foundation. The
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and
department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) are named as defendants.
The Helms amendment, authored by Sen.
Jesse Helms, (R-N.C.) was originally
approved overwhelmingly by Congress last
October as part of last year’s HHS
appropriations bill. The suit seeks to remove
all restrictions on AIDS educational
materials..
"When human life is at stake, materials
targeted to the gay community should not be
restricted because they encourage people to
opt for sexual practices which are healthy,"
said Nan Hunter, director of the ACLU’s
AIDS Project and co-counsel on the case.
David Cole, attorney for CCR, pointed
out the "vagueness" of the Helms
amendment's language causes many groups
to self-censor materials. "The amendment
forces educators to guess at the meaning of
the law," said Cole. He explained that the
federal government requires that federally
funded educational material be submitted to
government-established review boards for
approval. Government review has a
"chilling effect" on AIDS education, said
Cole.
Cole said the case is based on firm legal
Cont'd on Page 3
JO GIRAUDO
While the Confederate Peace Memorial in Piedmont Park commemorates the
end of the Civil War, Southern gays and lesbians still struggle to balance their
heritage with the progressive politics needed to gain civil rights. See Page 6.
Stephen Roy Carr plead guilty to first
degree murder in the shooting death
of Rebecca Wright after the "homo
sexual panic defense was disallowed.
ran for the shelter of a large tree. She was
struck twice, in the back and back of the
head.
Wight died at the campsite. Brenner
walked 3.7 miles to Shippensburg Road,
where she stopped two men who took her to
the Shippensburg police department.
While recovering in the Milton S.
Hcrshey Medical Center, Brenner gave
police a description of the only person she
and Wight had seen along the trail. A
composite drawing was made and several
people who know Carr identified him.
Brenner has denied claims made by
Carr's attorney that she and Wight "put on a
show" or "intentionally teased" Carr with
scenes of nudity and sexual acts.
"I knew all along that Rebecca and I
were completely innocent and our
relationship was completely honorable,
respectable and wonderful," said Brenner.
Carr waived his right to a jury trial as a
result of an agreement between District
Attorney Roy Keefer and Michael George,
Carr's court-appointed attorney. Keefer
agreed not to seek the death penalty and to
withdraw two counts of aggravated assault
and an attempted murder charge.
Carr, 28, faces life in prison without
parole.
"It seems to me that a life sentence with