Newspapers / Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.) / Sept. 13, 2003, edition 1 / Page 1
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r i1 Service the Caroiirui^ for 17 yeard S ecia Pnd Quid 38 NC Dance Theatre’s out dancer SINCE ±9BA WWW.Q-NOHES.COM SEPTEMBER 13.2003 Guilty plea from attacker that left gay actor Trev Broudy with brain damage 13 Consumate dance music diva performs in Raleigh 30 Durham gets domestic partnership benefits PFLAG holds conference in Raleigh-Durham Para Todos: Gay civil unions In Argentina! Prnfilp' Cf r Attorney Nekki Shutt 29 ONLINE Q.POLL www.q«notes.com Shoutd ^'tddie Hainan’s fife be X Yes .No OutCharlotte fest bites the dust Annual LGBT cultural event comes to an end amidst speculation of mismanagement and embezzlement by David Moore Q-Notes staff Amidst an arrest, embezzlement charges and a pending court hearing for former director Dwight Eric Bassett, the Queen City LGBT cul tural organization OutCharlotte has apparently closed its doors. On June 28, 2003 OutCharlotte held a “garage sale” of sorts — from their office in the Varnadore Building on Independence Boulevard. A press release from two weeks prior announced the sale — indicating it was a chance to buy a part of Charlotte’s gay and lesbian history by purchasing tee-shirts, coffee mugs and other memorabilia bearing the organization’s name and logo. “This is to help us pay our last month’s rent,” offered Joanne Stevenson, one of only two Banners adorned the inner city business district for the first OuKharlotte Festival in 1995. Allegations of embezzlement and organizer disinterest reportedly led to the failure of the annual event, which was founded by LGBT Community Center Director Dan Kirsch (right). former OutCharlotte members who were hand for the sale. The following day, a truck showed up and packed up all the remaining pieces — lock, stock and barrel — of what had once been a shining beacon of LGBT culture in the Queen City. Now, nearly three montfis later, OutCharlotte’s office is empty. The sign on the door is gone. The phone number is discon nected and their website has been dismantled. Although there is little question that OutCharlotte is now defunct, there is still no see OUT on 4 NC gay man on death row gets execution date Prosecutor admits emphasizing Eddie Hartman's sexual on'entation to insure the death penalty by Frands Ferry and Mark Kleinschmidt Eddie Hartman is a gay North Carolina death row inmate. He has been sentenced to die Oct. 3 for his role in the murder of Herman Smith in 1993. Hartman’s guilt is not in question — he voluntarily con fessed to the crime. There is, however, a deeper, more disturbing reason to be concerned about this case: Eddie’s sexual ori entation was used by the prosecution against him at trial. During the Eddie Hartman is sched uled for execution Oct. 3. penalty phase of Hartman’s trial, when the only question before the jury was whether Hartman should live or die, Hartman’s mother testified that her son had been sexually molest ed by older male relatives on two separate occasions as a child. In a successful attempt to blunt the impact of this evidence during cross- examination, the prosecutor, David Beard, asked Hartman’s mother, “Is your son not a homosexual?” Hartman’s aunt also testified about the sex ual abuse. On cross-examination. Beard said to her, “Well, you knew that Mr. Hartman is a homosexual. You’ve heard that.” The judge told the jury that Beard’s statement was improper, but Beard persisted by next asking, “Did you know what sexual persuasion the defendant was?” in proceedings after Hartman was sen tenced to death. Beard acknowledged emphasizing Hartman’s sexual orientation in order to insure that he received the death penalty. The gay bias introduced by Beard clearly discouraged the jury from considering the harsh upbringing that Hartman experienced. He grew up in a violent and neglectful envi ronment wrought with drug and alcohol abuse. He watched his mother try to commit suicide by overdosing on pills and slashing her wrists. He was sexually abused at age eight by an uncle, and again at age eleven by an older step-brother. He was beaten by three of his mother’s six husbands, one time in the head with a club, leaving him unconscious and hos pitalized for a week. Hartman’s mother.introduced him to alco hol at age eleven and he became an alcoholic in an attempt to numb the pain of his miserable childhood. Hartman’s mother’s life was so chaotic that at one point she abandoned him and lost custody. He had no contact with his father until he was 18 years old. Hartman’s case also highlights other problems that are widespread within the state’s justice system. The North Carolina State Bar recently suspended the license of one of Hartman’s court appointed trial attor neys. A report released in 2002 by the Common Sense Foundation found that more than one in six death row inmates were rep resented at trial by attorneys who have been disciplined by the Bar. Charlotte- Mecklenbur police arres six men ? Park Road park cruisers charged with solidting for crime against nature by Wendell Neame Six men were arrested in Charlotte’s Park Road Park during an undercover sting operation Thursday, Sept. 4. • . - According to police ^'^hpcr^Fo officials, the opera- y . tion was prompted after complaints from residents ^ the southside neigh- borhood. The six were slapped with various misde meanor charges, rang ing from soliciting crime against nature and public masturba tion. All were released on bail. The arrests and the sting operation call in to question the state’s compliance with the Supreme Court’s recent deci- Charlotte police contin ue to use N.C's CAN law to arrest gay men, despite the sodomy overturn. Sion on the Texas v. Lawrence case, which over turned sodomy laws throughout the country and was purported to abolish antiquated ‘Crime Against Nature’ laws in both Carolinas. Police confirm under the new guidelines they see HARTMAN on 4 see STING on 6
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