Rod 2.0:Beta #gay #news #lgbt #gaynews

CBS News: "Did 'Gay Panic' Lead Michael Griffin to Kill Don Belton?"

There are new developments in the shocking murder of Don Belton, the gifted black gay writer and beloved Indiana University professor who was brutally stabbed to death over the holidays. Michael J. Griffin, the 25-year-old former Marine who admits to killing the English professor, has plead not guilty and is being held without bond. And the mainstream news media is beginning to explore Griffin's claim that the slender, 53-year-old academic "sexually assaulted" the decorated Marine who was less than half his age.

CBS News.com explores the likely defense and asks: "Did "Gay Panic" Lead Ex-Marine Michael Griffin to Kill Professor Don Belton?"

The former military man told police that Belton, who was openly gay, sexually assaulted him in front of his girlfriend, while they were both intoxicated on Christmas Day. And because the assistant professor of English refused to "show remorse," Griffin stabbed him to death, according to court documents. Despite his alleged confession, Griffin has pleaded not guilty to the killing. And though his defense strategy is not yet clear, others with similar cases have pursued a "gay panic" defense, hoping to persuade juries that they were rendered temporarily insane by the perceived romantic or sexual advances of the victim.

In the case of Matthew Shepard, the gay 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered in 1998, his attackers originally used the gay panic defense, arguing that they were driven to temporary insanity by his alleged sexual advances. Both attackers were given life sentences. One of the highest-profile cases to make use of the defense was that of Jonathan Schmitz, who killed his friend Scott Amedure after a taping of the The Jenny Jones Show where he learned that Amedure was sexually attracted to him. Schmitz was convicted of second degree murder and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years.

ABC News also reports the gay panic angle: "Bloomington Police Lt. David Drake told ABCNews.com today that police 'really don't know' if the incident on Christmas Day was consensual or not. Once in police custody, Griffin waived his rights and told investigators, according to the probable cause affidavit, that he went to Belton's home on Sunday to confront him about the two sexual encounters, which Griffin described as assaults. Drake said the sexual incidents allegedly occurred at Griffin's home on Christmas Day during a gathering with friends. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the sexual acts."

The gay panic defense has been deployed to various degrees of success in many cases reported on Rod 2.0. Most recently, 19-year-old Robert Hannah was sentenced to only 180 days behind bars for the brutal September 2008 beating death of Tony Randolph Hunter. Hannah claimed the black gay Maryland man grabbed his crotch and butt when the two men crossed paths on a Washington D.C. street. And in New York City, Steven Pomie was eventually sentenced to nine years for the brutal gay-bashing of Dwan Prince that left him partially paralyzed. Pomie claims that Prince flirted with him and blew a kiss at him.

You May Have Missed:
WATCH: Hundreds Attend Vigil for Slain Professor Don Belton
Indiana Univ Professor Don Belton Stabbed to Death

Nine Year Sentence in Vicious Dwan Prince Gay-Bashing

An update on the story of Dwan Prince, the black gay Brooklyn man left partially paralyzed after a brutal 2005 gay-bashing. The convicted assailant, Steven Pomie, faced retrial and finally admitted his guilt in a hearing today, reports Gay City News.

"You’re pleading guilty because you are guilty," said Judge John P. Walsh at a September 21 hearing held in Brooklyn criminal court. "Is that correct?" Pomie, who stood handcuffed during the proceeding, said "yes" and nodded his head. After his 2006 conviction for first-degree assault and first-degree assault as a hate crime, Pomie said he was innocent.

In 2005, Pomie attacked Prince with two other men after Prince flirted with him. Pomie returned with one of those men to deliver a second beating, and then came back alone a third time, but was prevented by witnesses from beating Prince. As Pomie left the scene that third time he delivered a kick to Prince’s head saying, "Yo, leave it alone son, the nigger’s a faggot," witnesses said.

In 2006, Pomie was sentenced to 25 years with the requirement that he serve at least 21-and-a-half years before being eligible for parole. In 2008, a state appeals court overturned the conviction and dismissed the top charges against Pomie, saying he could be retried on the lesser charges of second-degree assault and second-degree assault as a hate crime.

Pomie faced up to 15 years if convicted at retrial. That was complicated when Prince sent Pomie a letter in which he blamed himself for the vicious beating that left him partially paralyzed and brain damaged. Prince, who is also HIV-positive, is attending a Bible study class wrote his attacker what sounds like the beginnings of an "ex-gay" testimony.

Pomie will be sentenced on October 13 to a 9-year term. GCN adds: "Pomie has been in custody since his 2005 arrest and all of that time counts toward the minimum time served. He could get his first parole hearing in roughly four years."

Some Background ...
Hate Crime Attack Victim Dwan Prince Blames Self [R20]
Hate Trial Begins [R20]

Hate Crime Attack Victim Dwan Prince Blames Himself, Pleads for Reduced Sentence for Gaybasher

In a stunning development that could complicate the retrial of Steven Pomie in the 2005 assault of Dwan Prince, the gay Brooklyn man sent Pomie a letter in which he blamed himself for the vicious beating that left him partially paralyzed, Gay City News reports.

"First please allow me to deeply apology for my hated comment," Prince wrote in the July 20 letter, which Gay City News is quoting verbatim. "Please I do hope you know I am truly deeply sorry for what ever was sayed that night. I have made some big mistakes in my life and that was the stupidiest and biggest one of all."

Pomie, now 26, allegedly attacked Prince in Brooklyn’s Brownsville section after the now 31-year-old flirted with him. Pomie first beat and kicked Prince with two other men, and then made a second assault with another man, witnesses said during Pomie’s 2006 trial. When Pomie returned alone to deliver a third beating, witnesses prevented him from attacking Prince, who was lying unconscious on the sidewalk.

"I was at blame so it is my to my strongest degree that you get out as soon as possible," Prince wrote. ... "What I asked the state to do is sentence you to five years and five years parole." He also expressed the hope that they could be friends.

Pomie was convicted on charges of first-degree assault and first-degree assault as a hate crime. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison with the requirement that he serve at least 21 years before being eligible for parole. An appellate court reversed the conviction in 2008 and ordered the retrial on lesser charges of second-degree assault and second-degree assault as a hate crime.

Dwan Prince, who is also HIV-positive, wrote to his attacker what sounds like the beginnings of an "ex-gay" testimony. Prince is attending a Bible study class and tells Gay City News he is looking to "change" his life. "I am looking for a female who I can marry and have my sperm washed and have children... With me going to church, I feel myself that I must try to live by the Bible, I must try to live by God’s law."

Prince was a witness at the first trial, and, although he has no memory of the brutal beating, his testimony was a powerful illustration of the "devastating results" of the attack. Dwan Prince's unexpected and much  more sympathetic posture toward Steven Pomie could sway a jury—and become a talking point for social conservatives and "ex-gay" ministries.

H/T Living Out Loud w/ Darian

A Victim Has Been Blamed [GCN]

Hate Trial Begins

For the first time, a gay Brooklyn man confronts the thugs who allegedly beat him, stomped him and left him for dead. Dwan Prince testified in the attempted murder and assault trial of Steven Pomie, who is accused of orchestrating the gay bashing on June 8, 2005 The 28 year old former construction worker revealed an excruciating legacy of surgeries, physical therapy and pain: "I used to run fast. Now, I can barely walk. I can't run. I can't take pain medication because it makes me throw up. I can't sleep because my leg hurts and my shoulder hurts." Prince also has full-blown AIDS.

The detail of the case were truly horrific: "Shouting anti-gay epithets, the three punched Prince and beat him so severely, according to The New York Times, that a bystander offered to fight in the victim’s stead to spare Prince further injury." Pomie, a 22-year ex-con, faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted of attempted murder and assault as a hate crime.

You'll notice, no photos on this post. After working so many years in television news, it's frustrating to look at one after another mug shot of black men accused of hurting, killing or trying to kill another.