Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN
AIDS and
Insurance
Discrimination at
work in Georgia
See Page 11
Vol. 2, No. 1
Taking Pride in Our Culture
March 2,1989
Fulton County Court Upholds
PWA's Will, Family To Appeal
An Atlanta jury returned a verdict
February 15 rejecting the claim of a gay
man's family that he was mentally
incompetent from "parasites on the brain"
when he signed a will leaving the bulk of his
estate to a longtime friend instead of his
father and brother. The will was prepared
less than a month before he died of AIDS
last spring.
The verdict clears the way for Gary
Kaupman, 44, an Atlanta bookkeeper who
maintained a friendship for twenty years
with the deceased, David O'Shields, to
receive the largest portion of the estate,
estimated at $200,000.
David O'Shields 1 father, George
O'Shields, and brother, John Daniel
O'Shields, 38, contested the will on the
grounds that the deceased family member
was of an unsound mind brought on by
complications from his illness when he
signed the document. The family also
charged that O'Shields' friends unduly
influenced him to exclude them from the
will and give the majority of the estate to
Kaupman. O'Shields signed the will while
hospitalized on April 8, 1988, and died May
5. He was 30 years old.
At the time he signed the will, O'Shields
suffered from an enlarged brain caused by a
parasitic infestation, according to his
physician, Dr. Sue J. Lee. Lee testified in a
videotaped deposition that O'Shields "was
of sound mind" on the day the will was
executed. She told of performing a mental
status exam that day, and said O'Shields
"was oriented to time, place, and person",
although she indicated her patient had
experienced problems associated with loss
of memory and balance when he was
admitted to the hospital on April 4.
Dosages of a drug known as Decadron,
which Lee said she began to administer to
O'Shields following his admission on April
4, had the effect of clearing up his mind.
"David was like a new person," she said,
after he began taking the drug.
The attorney who drew up O'Shields' will
gave testimony that he signed the will
voluntarily in her presence in the hospital.
"David was not confused the day the will
was signed," said Cara Maris.
"David told me a lot about his family
situation when he was in the hospital," Lee
testified. "He told me he didn't get along
with his family at all."
O'Shields' father testified that his dead
son was "sleepy and groggy" on the
morning of April 8, and his brother said
David O'Shields "dozed off' frequently and
did not recognize either he or his father
when they visited him three days earlier.
The family’s attorney, Edward Gadrix,
who said that the case is one of the first of
its kind in the nation, characterized
O'Shields' friends as a "homosexual
element", and as "busy little bees, weaving
their web to control David's mind". Gadrix
contended that Kaupman "unduly
influenced David to write a will making him
the beneficiary".
Gadrix told the jury of six men and six
women that O'Shields had "a very diseased
mind (during) the last days of his life. He
had parasites on the brain," and was of
impaired mental ability. Gadrix introduced
testimony of an infectious disease specialist,
Dr. Winkler G. Weinberg, who said that
Cont'd Page 3
Have You Heard This Homophobe Lately?
Comedian Sam Kinison's latest recording entitled "Have You Seen
Me Lately" reinforces prejudice against gay men, lesbians and people
with AIDS, according to gay rights and feminist organizations.
Responding to anti-lesbian/gay bias in the entertainment industry,
these groups have launched the" Campaign for Fairness in
Entertainment." See story page 13.
HRCF Mailgrams - Your Hotline for Influence and Power in D.C.
Sen. Gordon Humphrey
H umphrey's distorted "no promo homo" amendments, like those
of Jesse Helms, exploit fear and anti-gay bigotry and censor
effective AIDS education. Will he win? It's up to you!
Help defeat anti-gay
amendments to aids billsl
CALL
1-800-257-4900
Scnd( tingrc** jmessage Ask for Operator 9IH4.
Choose a prepared mailgr am only J4 Ml cadi. charged lo your telephone
li sou dxn i know v^lni sour legislator iv the operator does
\ CALL NOW!
H elms .mli-g.iv .imciidmeiiis spread le.it ,md lugnirv .md endanger
effective government response to the \ll>S iims Will he win'’
It s up to von'
Beat back the llehns attack!
CALL
1-800-257-4900
N'liil Coneress a uie'Mfci Wk lm ii|mi r,.i •• ihI
ChoiiM' ,i prrp.iml m.iilerjiii tints Sl'tie.iili • Ii.mc iM« siini IrliphiMir
It SiHI tblll l kilim ssIn• Siiur Irei'l.ilm l' II I "I" Mini |.H-
4 CALL NOW!
i—|Rep. Bill Dannemeyer J
The '‘Jess* Helms of (he House
annemeyer’s anti-gay amendments undercut effective
response to the AIDS crisis. Will he win? Not if you
fight back!
HELP DEFEAT
HOMOPHOBIC AMENDMENTS!
CALL
1-800-257-4900
Send Congress a message Ask lor Operator *#|K4
< house a prepared mailgram. Only $4.50 each, charged lo sour telephone
It you don't know who your legislator is. the operator discs
^CALL NOW!
llw S/>mJ 0*1 K ihi IIimiuii Ki»lii.
( in., jifn fund lm lunhfc inlo. nini.1,1 ih* I irld I>i-i»...ii IIHI I
HO Bo* 096. Wathiiiflon. IM Mill 01 .all iM.'l f.’» JIN'
The Human Rights
Campaign Fund’s "Action
Hotlines" enable
lesbian/gay constituents
to send instantaneous
mailgrams to their
senators and
representatives. The two
new hotlines-one for
AIDS and the other for
civil rights and fairness
issues-were designed to
counter the radical right's
"grassroots mail
machine."
See story page 6.