Steven Pomie Receives 25 Years in Anti-Gay AttackSentence gives some measure of justice to Dwan Prince; Anti-Violence Project Continues to Have Questions About AccomplicesApril 24, 2006
New York – Less than a month after he was found guilty, Steven Pomie, was received the maximum sentence allowable for his part in the brutal anti-gay assault on Dwan Prince in Brownsville, Brooklyn last June.
Prince was savagely beaten by three men screaming anti-gay slurs, and in the days after the attack, authorities identified Pomie as part of the group responsible for the beating. The attack took place outside Prince's apartment building in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.
On March 28, Pomie was found guilty of Assault in the 1st Degree, and Assault in the First Degree as a hate crime. He was sentenced today to 25 years for each count, to be served concurrently. The judge in the case, is also requiring that Pomie undergo mandatory psychiatric treatment.
"Last summer's assault on Dwan Prince was probably the most vicious hate violence attack against our community last year," said Clarence Patton, the Anti-Violence Project's executive director.
Prince, who gave dramatic testimony during the trial, also delivered part of a victim impact statement today, though was unable to finish. His mother completed delivering his statement and also delivered her own.
Prince has made remarkable strides towards recovery. The attack left him in a coma for a period of time and he suffered a number of injuries that will require ongoing rehabilitation.
"We sincerely hope that today's sentencing and the knowledge that Steven Pomie will not be able to touch Dwan for a long, long time gives some measure of solace to Dwan and his loved ones, though we all know that their lives will never be the same," added Patton. "We do know unfortunately, that Dwan and those who love and care about him will live with the effects of this brutal attack for the rest of their lives, and that there can never be recompense for that," Patton said.
"We again commend the District Attorney and the police investigators who worked on this case, as well as the Anti-Violence Project's volunteers and staff who worked to get information from the community in the immediate wake of the attack on Dwan," Patton added.
"Nevertheless, we continue to have questions about why some of the individuals who were apparently part of the attack on Dwan were not or have not been brought to trial or charged and are following up with the District Attorney's Office on that issue" Patton concluded.
According to Anti-Violence Project statistics, the organization on average receives a call about a new anti-LGTB incident every 12 hours, and a call about a new anti-LGTB assault every 36 hours.
In 2004, the Anti-Violence Project served over 2,000 victims of violence. The Anti-Violence Project's annual reports on hate and domestic violence can be accessed online at http://www.avp.org/.
The New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP) is the nation's largest service agency for victims of bias crimes against the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected communities. Since 1980, AVP has provided counseling and advocacy for tens of thousands of survivors of bias-motivated and domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, HIV-related violence, and police misconduct. AVP documents incidents of violence against and within LGTB communities, educates the public about the effects of violence, against or within our communities, and works to reform public policies impacting all lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected people.
AVP provides free and confidential assistance to crime victims through its 24-hour bilingual hotline (212-714-1141).
Monday, May 21, 2007
5 YEARS LATER ...GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Transgender Teens Killed On D.C. Street
Two transgender teenagers, best friends who were biologically male but dressed and lived as women, were shot and killed early yesterday in Southeast Washington -- a crime that police said was unusually violent and has left them with few leads.
Deon Davis, 18, and Wilbur Thomas, 19, were found in the front seat of Thomas's Toyota Camry about 3:25 a.m. at 50th and C streets SE. Police said that each body had at least 10 bullet wounds and that both victims died at the scene.
Best friends Deon Davis, 18, left, and Wilbur "Stephanie" Thomas, 19, were shot to death early yesterday in southeast Washington. Sgt. Brett Parson, who heads the D.C. police gay and lesbian liaison unit, said a witness reported seeing a man shooting into the Camry and then driving off in a large car, possibly a Ford Crown Victoria.
Parson said police are not sure what sparked the shooting. "With the number of rounds fired, it seems like it was personal," he said, not a confrontation between strangers as might occur in a robbery. Police are investigating several possibilities, he said, including that the deaths are a hate crime.
The scene of the shooting, at a corner with vacant apartment complexes on two sides, was less than a block from Thomas's apartment on C Street SE, family members said. His mother, Queen Washington, said she believes that Thomas and Davis were returning from a gas station at East Capitol Street and Benning Road when they were shot.
Family members and friends said Thomas and Davis had met in their mid-teens through a social service agency that helps transgender youth and had grown close as they gave up their male identities and began dressing all the time as women.
The process was difficult, family members said. When Davis and Thomas were younger and still dressed as boys, they were often beaten up or harassed by people in the neighborhood who suspected they were gay.
"People would jump him every time he went to the store," said Katherine Parker, Davis's godmother, who raised him.
Later, there was a different problem. In public, Davis and Thomas were very convincing as women -- and were often accosted by men in the neighborhood.
Davis's sister, Rochelle Davis, 17, said her brother always warned these would-be suitors. "He'd say, 'Do you know I'm a boy?' " she said. "He made sure that he told them up front."
Rochelle Davis said she often warned her brother that someone might become violent when he found out Davis was a man.
"He said, 'Girl . . . ' [and] he started laughing like nothing was going to happen," she said.
Thomas's family, which includes two brothers and two sisters, was accepting of his lifestyle change. Wilbur Thomas went by the name of Stephanie. "We always kind of knew a little," his mother said.
But Parker, Davis's godmother, said she tried to stop him from dressing as a woman, a habit she believed he picked up from watching "The Ricki Lake Show."
"I told him. I said I didn't believe in that," Parker said. She told him to cut his hair: "I wanted him to be a boy."
But Davis said, "Mama, you can't tell a person how to live your life," Parker remembered. Davis insisted on his new life so staunchly that he destroyed all the photos of him as a teenage boy. Only pictures of him as a small boy remain.
Parker learned of Davis's death yesterday morning when transgender activists showed up at her door. Later, three transgender activists sat in her living room, referring to Davis as "she" while Parker usually said "he" or "my son."
"I raised him from a baby," she said. "He was my heart."
Two transgender teenagers, best friends who were biologically male but dressed and lived as women, were shot and killed early yesterday in Southeast Washington -- a crime that police said was unusually violent and has left them with few leads.
Deon Davis, 18, and Wilbur Thomas, 19, were found in the front seat of Thomas's Toyota Camry about 3:25 a.m. at 50th and C streets SE. Police said that each body had at least 10 bullet wounds and that both victims died at the scene.
Best friends Deon Davis, 18, left, and Wilbur "Stephanie" Thomas, 19, were shot to death early yesterday in southeast Washington. Sgt. Brett Parson, who heads the D.C. police gay and lesbian liaison unit, said a witness reported seeing a man shooting into the Camry and then driving off in a large car, possibly a Ford Crown Victoria.
Parson said police are not sure what sparked the shooting. "With the number of rounds fired, it seems like it was personal," he said, not a confrontation between strangers as might occur in a robbery. Police are investigating several possibilities, he said, including that the deaths are a hate crime.
The scene of the shooting, at a corner with vacant apartment complexes on two sides, was less than a block from Thomas's apartment on C Street SE, family members said. His mother, Queen Washington, said she believes that Thomas and Davis were returning from a gas station at East Capitol Street and Benning Road when they were shot.
Family members and friends said Thomas and Davis had met in their mid-teens through a social service agency that helps transgender youth and had grown close as they gave up their male identities and began dressing all the time as women.
The process was difficult, family members said. When Davis and Thomas were younger and still dressed as boys, they were often beaten up or harassed by people in the neighborhood who suspected they were gay.
"People would jump him every time he went to the store," said Katherine Parker, Davis's godmother, who raised him.
Later, there was a different problem. In public, Davis and Thomas were very convincing as women -- and were often accosted by men in the neighborhood.
Davis's sister, Rochelle Davis, 17, said her brother always warned these would-be suitors. "He'd say, 'Do you know I'm a boy?' " she said. "He made sure that he told them up front."
Rochelle Davis said she often warned her brother that someone might become violent when he found out Davis was a man.
"He said, 'Girl . . . ' [and] he started laughing like nothing was going to happen," she said.
Thomas's family, which includes two brothers and two sisters, was accepting of his lifestyle change. Wilbur Thomas went by the name of Stephanie. "We always kind of knew a little," his mother said.
But Parker, Davis's godmother, said she tried to stop him from dressing as a woman, a habit she believed he picked up from watching "The Ricki Lake Show."
"I told him. I said I didn't believe in that," Parker said. She told him to cut his hair: "I wanted him to be a boy."
But Davis said, "Mama, you can't tell a person how to live your life," Parker remembered. Davis insisted on his new life so staunchly that he destroyed all the photos of him as a teenage boy. Only pictures of him as a small boy remain.
Parker learned of Davis's death yesterday morning when transgender activists showed up at her door. Later, three transgender activists sat in her living room, referring to Davis as "she" while Parker usually said "he" or "my son."
"I raised him from a baby," she said. "He was my heart."
Sunday, May 13, 2007
MY FIRST PROJECT IS ALMOST DONE...
I AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT I'VE NEARLY COMPLETED MY FIRST ALL GAY ALL BLACK SPEC PILOT ENTITLED RASHAAD'S HEART.....
ALTHOUGH I MUST SAY "NOAH'S ARC" WAS GROUND BREAKING IN THE SENSE THAT IT GAVE VISIBILITY TO THE BLACK LGBT COMMUNITY IN MAINSTREAM TELEVISION POP-CULTURE, IT DID LITTLE ELSE TO SQUASH THE STEREOTYPE'S THAT THE BLACK LGBT COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SHAKE AS FAR BACK AS THE EVER POPULAR 90'S DUO "BLAINE AND ANTOINE"
RASHAAD'S HEART IS DESTINED TO BE A RUNAWAY HIT....
THE SERIES FOLLOWS A YOUNG GAY BLACK MALE NAMED RASHAAD JACKSON AS HE JOURNEY'S THROUGH LIFE, LOVE AND PAIN IN INNER CITY LOS ANGELES.
ALTHOUGH I MUST SAY "NOAH'S ARC" WAS GROUND BREAKING IN THE SENSE THAT IT GAVE VISIBILITY TO THE BLACK LGBT COMMUNITY IN MAINSTREAM TELEVISION POP-CULTURE, IT DID LITTLE ELSE TO SQUASH THE STEREOTYPE'S THAT THE BLACK LGBT COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SHAKE AS FAR BACK AS THE EVER POPULAR 90'S DUO "BLAINE AND ANTOINE"
RASHAAD'S HEART IS DESTINED TO BE A RUNAWAY HIT....
THE SERIES FOLLOWS A YOUNG GAY BLACK MALE NAMED RASHAAD JACKSON AS HE JOURNEY'S THROUGH LIFE, LOVE AND PAIN IN INNER CITY LOS ANGELES.
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