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queeractivism
Jun. 25th, 2007 03:05 pmUS, NY: Lesbians sentenced for self-defense
FREE THEM NOW!
Lesbians sentenced for self-defense
All-white jury convicts Black women
By Imani Henry
New York
Published Jun 21, 2007 2:58 AM
On June 14, four African-American women — Venice Brown (19), Terrain Dandridge (20), Patreese Johnson (20) and Renata Hill (24) — received sentences ranging from three-and-a-half to 11 years in prison. None of them had previous criminal records. Two of them are parents of small children.
Their crime? Defending themselves from a physical attack by a man who held them down and choked them, ripped hair from their scalps, spat on them, and threatened to sexually assault them — all because they are lesbians.
The mere fact that any victim of a bigoted attack would be arrested, jailed and then convicted for self-defense is an outrage. But the length of prison time given further demonstrates the highly political nature of this case and just how racist, misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-youth and anti-worker the so-called US justice system truly is.
The description of the events, reported below, is based on written statements by a community organisation (FIERCE) that has made a call to action to defend the four women, verbal accounts from court observers and evidence from a surveillance camera.
The attack
On Aug. 16, 2006, seven young, African-American, lesbian-identified friends were walking in the West Village. The Village is a historic center for lesbian, gay, bi and Trans (LGBT) communities, and is seen as a safe haven for working-class LGBT youth, especially youth of colour.
As they passed the Independent Film Cinema, 29-year-old Dwayne Buckle, an African-American vendor selling DVDs, sexually propositioned one of the women. They rebuffed his advances and kept walking.
“I’ll f— you straight, sweetheart!” Buckle shouted. A video camera from a nearby store shows the women walking away. He followed them, all the while hurling anti-lesbian slurs, grabbing his genitals and making explicitly obscene remarks. The women finally stopped and confronted him. A heated argument ensued. Buckle spat in the face of one of the women and threw his lit cigarette at them, escalating the verbal attack into a physical one.
( article continued )
FIERCE is asking for assistance for these young women, including pro-bono legal support, media contacts and writers, pen pals, financial support, and diverse organisational support. For details, visit http://www.fiercenyc.org/ .
x-posted
FREE THEM NOW!
Lesbians sentenced for self-defense
All-white jury convicts Black women
By Imani Henry
New York
Published Jun 21, 2007 2:58 AM
On June 14, four African-American women — Venice Brown (19), Terrain Dandridge (20), Patreese Johnson (20) and Renata Hill (24) — received sentences ranging from three-and-a-half to 11 years in prison. None of them had previous criminal records. Two of them are parents of small children.
Their crime? Defending themselves from a physical attack by a man who held them down and choked them, ripped hair from their scalps, spat on them, and threatened to sexually assault them — all because they are lesbians.
The mere fact that any victim of a bigoted attack would be arrested, jailed and then convicted for self-defense is an outrage. But the length of prison time given further demonstrates the highly political nature of this case and just how racist, misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-youth and anti-worker the so-called US justice system truly is.
The description of the events, reported below, is based on written statements by a community organisation (FIERCE) that has made a call to action to defend the four women, verbal accounts from court observers and evidence from a surveillance camera.
The attack
On Aug. 16, 2006, seven young, African-American, lesbian-identified friends were walking in the West Village. The Village is a historic center for lesbian, gay, bi and Trans (LGBT) communities, and is seen as a safe haven for working-class LGBT youth, especially youth of colour.
As they passed the Independent Film Cinema, 29-year-old Dwayne Buckle, an African-American vendor selling DVDs, sexually propositioned one of the women. They rebuffed his advances and kept walking.
“I’ll f— you straight, sweetheart!” Buckle shouted. A video camera from a nearby store shows the women walking away. He followed them, all the while hurling anti-lesbian slurs, grabbing his genitals and making explicitly obscene remarks. The women finally stopped and confronted him. A heated argument ensued. Buckle spat in the face of one of the women and threw his lit cigarette at them, escalating the verbal attack into a physical one.
( article continued )
FIERCE is asking for assistance for these young women, including pro-bono legal support, media contacts and writers, pen pals, financial support, and diverse organisational support. For details, visit http://www.fiercenyc.org/ .
x-posted
