Vol. 82, No. 8
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Thursday, July 17,
Charged with murder pfjailer
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From Staff and Wire Reports
RALEIGH Heated debate between
defense and prosecution, the tedious
selection of jurors, and bomb threats marked
the opening days of the Joan Little trial in
Raleigh, N.C.
Little is charged with the August 27, 1974
murder of Clarence T. Alligood, 62, a white
Beaufort County jailer whom Little
maintains was attempting to rape her.
Chief defense attorney Jerry Paul entered
a plea of "not quilty" Monday to the first
degree murder charge, as Little stood in
silence.
Under North Carolina law, a conviction
by the state would mean the death penalty
for the 21 -year-old black defendant.
A number of verbal skirmishes have taken
place between Paul and Superior Court
Judge Hamilton Hobgood, who is presiding
over the case. Clashes have centered mostly
on matters related to jury selection.
At one point during Tuesday's
proceedings, Paul asked Hobgood to
remove himself from the trial when the judge
thwarted continuation of the defenses line of
questioning prospective jurors.
Paul had been using what he termed "the'
scientific method" injury selection. Aides to
the defense kept score as prospective jurors
were asked about such things as hobbies,
travel, and the magazines to which they
subscribe. Part of this method asks prospects
to respond with "agree or disagree" to a
series of statements dealing with racism.
votes
Planning Board
for D.U. house expansion,
support
5-0
by Michael Fawcett
Staff Writer
Despite strong protests from nearby
residents who feared excessive noise, the
Chapel Hill Planning Board voted 5-0
Tuesday night to recommend to the Board of
Aldermen that Delta Upsilon (DU)
fraternity's request for a Special Use Permit
be granted.
The permit, if adopted by the Aldermen,
will allow the fraternity, located at 407-A E:
Rosemary St., to construct a new building
for cooking, dining, meetings and social
functions. This building would enable DU to
retain its historic Dey and Bain houses,
located in front of the proposed site. The two
houses had been marked for destruction in
DU's original 1972 plan, which it withdrew
even though approved by the Aldermen
because of opposition by community
residents and some DU members.
The permit contains five stipulations an
acceptable plan for construction of sewers,
acceptable landscaping, a brick wall at least
6 feet high "screening ... the parking area (of
DU) from the view of abutting properties on
the north side of the lot," an agreement that
the new modification replaces all previous
such plans, and the condition that
construction begin by July 1, 1977 and end
by July 1, 1979.
The debate on the permit, which took less
than an hour, featured arguments by the DU
neighbors that excessive noise would be
caused. Hugh Stohler reminded the Board
UNC may owe over
$2,000 to Forsyth
UNC may be assessed over $2,000 for
property taxes on three parcels of land in
Winston-Salem, if a recent Forsyth County
claim is upheld.
Forsyth County officials filed the claim in
late June, on property valued at $17,920 in
1968.
The North Carolina Attorney General's
staff, serving as counsel for UNC, filed an
appeal last week, when Forsyth Tax
Supervisor Harvey Pardue notified officials
of the claim.
The assessment, which also includes
Winston-Salem city taxes, has a joint
evaluation of $ 1 .7 1 per $ 1 00 of roperty. If the
claim is upheld, the University will have to
pay 197S taxes on the land, plus back taxes
and a 10 per cent penalty fee for the past five
years.
Forsyth County is the fourth local
government to file tax claims against UNC
property not part of the actual campus.
Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange
County have all made assessments on
utilities and other property in Orange
County valued at over $40 million.
All four claims are expected to be
appealed in September when the state
Property Tax Commission meets.
The local governments are basing their
claims on 1973 tax exemption statutes which
state that only university property used for
public purposes may maintain tax
exemptions.
The attorney general's staff, however, has
cited an earlier statute that exempts UNC
from local taxes.
"Our argument is that the older act, which
clearly exempts the university, is the
overruling statute," Assistant State Attorney
General George Boylan said Friday in a
"Chapel Hill Newspaper" article.
The university has also claimed that its
off-campus holdings are being used for
public purposes, since resulting revenue goes
to UNC.
"First we'll have to see if UNC is subject to
taxes," Assistant V ice-Chancellor of
Business and Finance John Temple said
Tuesday, "and then we'll have to determine
what we use the property for."
There's really 'mass confusion' about how
the laws were established, Temple said. "It's
going to have to come down to a court
decision about which statute will govern."
"If we are subject to taxes, then it will be a
,rng and drawn-out process," he said.
"Other state institutions will be involved
too if we're liable, they are too."
A similar property tax assessment has
already been made against UNC at
Charlotte, Temple said.
No claims have been brought against the
university outside Orange and Forsyth
counties, although UNC owns land across
the state.
Kup
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Chris Kupec lost an appeal in federal
court last Monday and UNC lost an all
conference quarterback Tuesday when
Kupec gave up his court bd for anonicr
year of eligibility in the Atlantic Coast
Conference to sign with the Charlotte
Hornets of the World Football League.
After U.S. Circuit Court Judge
Braxton Craven upheld a lower court
ruling Monday, denying Kupec a
preliminary injunction against the
ACC, Kupec began serious negotiation
i ''
Chris Kupec
with the Hornets and announced his
signing Tuesday in Charlotte. Terms of
the contract were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to have a player
of Kupec's caliber join our football
team," said Hornets president Upton
Bell. "We feel we've got one of the
outstanding quarterbacks in North
Carolina and the nation.
"I have watched his progress
throughout his college career and know
that he is not only a top prospect but
that he is also a winner. He has the size,
the arm and the mental ability to play in
the World Football League. The
Hornets look forward to a long
relationship."
Kupec, who led the nation last year
with a 69.5 percent pass completion
average, began workouts with the
Charlotte club Wednesday in
preparation for Saturday's preseason
game with the Chicago Winds, in which
Kupec is expected to see limited action.
"I'm obviously behind since the club
has been in camp for three weeks,
Kupec said. "I must first get to know the
system, as well as the coaches and
players. We have some solid runners
and wide receivers and I'm especially
looking forward to playing with Randy
Cobb (former Duke wide receiver),
whom 1 played against in college.
that the town's noise ordinance was less
likely to be enforced on Friday and Saturday
nights, the nights when parties were most
likely to be held.
Margaret Knoerr, who with her husband
George remains among the fiercest
opponents of the DU extension, delivered a
strong objection. The Knoerrs believe that
DU's noise will hurt property values and
disturb children, including the Knoerr's own
13-year-old.
They presented copies of letters from two
local realtors (Foushee and Olsen) and one
assessor-realtor (Fisher & Fisher)
supporting their position.
George Knoerr was bitter about the
Board's decision, calling it "a disgusting
indictment."
Planning Director Mike Jennings
expressed disappointment at Knoerr's
comment after the meeting, saying he
believed Knoerr misunderstood him.
Jennings said the offended residents should
have called the police and used all other
"proper channels" before bringing their
complaint to the board. As it was, he said,'
these resources were not exhausted.
At least one board member (Blaine Liner)
expressed the same sentiments during the
debate, saying, "I'd hate to see this board get
involved in subsidiary issues." Both men felt
laws already on the books made any singling
out of the DU noise problem unnecessary.
Jennings added that of the fraternities and
sororities in the Rosemary St. area, only DU
had been the subject of a complaint
"What's the difference between a quiet DU
house and a quiet AEP (Alpha Epsilon Pi
sorority) house?' he asked rhetorically.
A heated exchange between Acting
Chairman Jonathan House and DU's law
student defender, Alan Pugh, added some
brief tension. Pugh had introduced
stipulations of his own, and after hearing the
residents' objections, he first warned that
DU might not accept changes, and finally
said he was withdrawing his stipulations.
House responded with controlled anger,
informing Pugh, "You've acted
precipitously." Pugh then consented to leave
in the stipulations. House, cooling,
suggested, "Let's forget the last 30 seconds of
debate." The Board, however, did not accept
Pugh's stipulation.
Board member Sid Cohn, who later said
he will resign on Monday because he is
leaving Chapel Hill, commented that he
generally feels fraternities do not belong in
residential areas like the one around the DU
house. However, he said, DU was an existing
fraternity, so fairness demanded that its
request be accepted..
Only one juror a day was selected in the
trial's penning two days. The first was
Cornelia Howell, 20, a Raleigh waitress at a
health foods restaurant. Seated Tuesday was
a white State Department of Corrections
counselor, 25-year-old Jennie Lancaster.
Although two bomb threats were received
on the second day of the trial, proceedings
continued in the third-floor courtroom of
the Wake County Courthouse without
evacuation.
Conflicting reports emerged Tuesday
about an inmate in the Beaufort County Jail
who could have been a possible witness to
the ice pick stabbing of Alligood. Without
eye-witnesses, the state must rely on
circumstantial evidence to prove the
stabbing was part of an escape plot.
The trial got under way Monday as
hundreds of Little's supporters staged a day
long demonstration outside the downtown
courthouse.
Women's groups, civil rights groups, and
prison reform groups have focused on
Little's case, viewing it as a symbol of their
causes.
A woman's right to defend herself against
rape is one question many women's groups
say the trial will decide.
Helping to catapult Little's case into the
national limelight was a direct-mail
campaign sponsored early this year by The .
Southern Poverty Law Center, headed by
Georgia State Senator Julian Bond. Most of
the $1 15 thousand bond which freed Little
from women's prison in March was posted
by the center.
The trial has drawn reporters from
national television networks, wire services,
and leading newspapers and magazines to
Raleigh.
Little has spoken at several rallies held in
her behalf around the country, including one
last week in Oakland, California. .
Chapel Hill has been a North Carolina
stronghold of Little support. She was hosted
at a well-attended reception in March at the
Community Church. Making a second local
stop. Little addressed a capacity j:rowd at f
UNC's Great Hall eariier this month.
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Staff photography by roo-tabfaoo
Joan Little trial
Little trial sparks Raleigh
Not
your average
"ft?,,.
by Jim Brozo
Staff Writer
RALEIGH A steady drizzle was
growing toward a full-fledged rain Monday
morning outside the new Wake County
Courthouse, while inside on the third floor,
the highly-publicized Joan Little murder
trial was beginning.
About two miles away, 400 to 500
demonstrators assembled near the N.C.
Women's Prison for a march to the
downtown Raleigh courthouse in support of
Little. As the police-escorted demonstrators
neared their destination on Fayetteville St.
at about 10:45 a.m., officers from the Wake
County Sheriffs Department, N.C.
Highway Patrol, and Raleigh City Police
stood in attentive readiness .for possible
disturbances.
Despite the unrelenting rain,
demonstrators remained spirited; the
cheering was loud and smiles were plentiful.
Some marchers carried large banners, while
countless others brandished cardboard
placards, most of which read simply "Free
-Joan." The defendant's name was spelled
with one n" as often as two.
A poster carried by a black youth reading
"Jail the Rich, Free the Poor" and a button
worn by a young white female which read
simply "Stop Rape" helped symbolize the
wider-ranging significance Little's trial has
taken on.
From atop a car parked in front of the
courthouse, Larry Little (no relation
to the defendant), a Winston-Salem Black
Panther leader, instructed the
demonstrators to line up in twos, so their
parade before the high-rise stone and glass
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N.C. Msmorisl Hospital held en open house last Sunday on
the eighth floor of Its new 131,00 square foot Bed Tower
addition. The new addition provides 219 beds, Ed per cent of
which ere In private rooms.. .
Esch floor of the addition will have Its own color echeme,
closed circuit television end ilx-tod tpecisl care unit.
structure would not interfere with normal
pedestrian traffic.
The rain had let up some as the Little
supporters filed back and forth rythmically
chanting, "Every body-clap your hands-let's
get together and free Joan." With varying
degrees of enthusiasm, the demonstration
continued through the waning minutes of
morning and throughouLthe afternoon.
Spectators lined the front of Belk's
Department Store across Fayetteville St.,
their ranks swelling when workers paused
during lunchbreaks.
Inside the courthouse, a handful of police
officers patrolled the airy lobby a reminder
that this was not just any Monday. Another
reminder was the camera crews from NBC
and ABC news occasionally resting on the
lobby's gold-carpeted floor, their backs
leaned against the walls and arms resting on
their knees.
In the ground-level offices of the Wake
County Clerk, it was business as usual,
except for assistant clerk Barbara Mobley,
who is issuing press passes during the
celebrated trial. "I'm sorry, but 1 have to
have authorization from your editor on file,"
Mobley sympathetically informed one
hopeful reporter early in the day.
Orange colored passes go to press
personnel who have reserved seats in the
courtroom, while white passes give members
of the media access to the third floor
pressroom and another courtroom wired
with the sound from the Little proceedings.
Heavily guarded by Wake County sheriffs
deputies, the third floor is off limits to
persons without authorization. Deputy
Harry Holland said late Monday afternoon
that all unauthorized persons, when asked to
leave, had done so without incident. "We
haven't had any situation of a controversial
nature," he said.
Holland is in charge of an electronic metal
detector secured from United Airlines,
which screens all persons entering the
courtroom where Little is being tried. He
said passage through the detector had
progressed "very smoothly" and that only
objects such as keys had caused any delays.
Deputies and reporters chatted amiably
with one another during court recesses.
Across a spacious waiting area from the
Little courtroom is the jury lounge. Men and
women wearing tags which read "juror" in
bright red letters, came out occasionally to
use the restrooms a few feet away.
As Little left the courthouse for a noon
hour recess, she and her small entourage was
deluged by the press and well-wishers. When
the Little entourage left for the day shortly
after 5:00 p.m., the crowd again swarmed in,
this time disrupting rush-hour traffic. When,
police moved in, the crowd scramble back to
the sidewalk and slowly began to disperse.
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