Hate Crime at Chapel Hill

ok. I understand now. I thought he was gay though. Perhaps his attackers knew that, hence the anti-gay name calling. But you may be right. It may not be a "hate crime". I believe the police assumed it was because of the specific names he was called.

> Are you suggesting that he hired someone to do this to him for political gain?

no

i think he was genuinely attacked

however i don't think the reason he was attacked had anything to do with his being gay

maybe a drug deal went bad, maybe he kept hitting on some dude's girlfriend, who knows

whatever it was, he didn't want to admit the real reason

Are you suggesting that he hired someone to do this to him for political gain? If he did that, the people who did beat him up still committed a crime, all the same. If I go out and hire someone to beat me up, for whatever reason, the fact that I paid them to do that does not mean, from a legal point of view, that a crime didn't take place. It would not be a "hate crime", but there are laws that state that you can't beat people up, for any reason. Of course, these are college kids. Perhaps they don't realize this.

As to motivation, who knows? I view myself as a pretty bright person. I happen to think we need hate crime legislation to try to PREVENT the thought process that makes it easier to commit these crimes. But, even though I want to see that legislation passed, it would never even occur to me to go out and hire some thugs to beat me up.

Why? Because things can easily get out of hand and go wrong. With the wrong blow, I could end up dead or paralyzed. It would be stupid to do something like that.

> Adam, in the link that you referenced, there was no mention that this incident was fabricated.

did you read what i wrote? to refresh your memory:

> so the attack itself does NOT appear to be fabricated

my question wasn't about the attack, it was about the MOTIVATION of the attack

i bet he knows exactly who attacked him and why, but doesn't want to say because either (a) it is embarrassing or (b) he was involved in something illegal

he probably trotted out the 'they attacked me because i was gay' explanation on very short notice because it seemed liked the best thing to do at the time. he probably never expected it to get the attention it did.

"Stockwell is a little fuzzy on the details"

"At that point, Stockwell blanked out. The next thing he remembers is blood on his hands. Aching with pain, he remembers crouching on the ground and seeing someone's feet in the periphery of his blurry vision."

it's funny that the ONE thing he did remember clearly, that there were 6 or 7 people after him is directly contradicted by the witness who is emphatic that there were only 3.

It's not clear that he's not telling the whole truth. If you've ever been the victim of a violent attack, you would understand that it's very difficult to recall all the "facts" at the time. Your brain shuts down when it is being hit with the fists of others. I'm not going to re-live my personal experience in this area, but trust me, I know.

We should be fair about this. The fact that Mr. Stockwell doesn't recall all of this accurately does not mean he is lying about it, or not "telling the whole truth".

Adam, in the link that you referenced, there was no mention that this incident was fabricated. No one, including the police, were suggesting that this did not happen. In fact, this is what an eye witness to the crime said, according to the link you posted:

From the article:
Here's what Tyron Edwards saw: From the driver's seat of the Chapel Hill Transit bus he drives, Edwards was looking out across Franklin Street. The bus was parked across the way on the north side of the street, just outside The Varsity movie theater. He saw four men running -- presumably three attackers chasing Stockwell. The three caught Stockwell at the corner, beat him quickly and took off -- walking. They strolled east on Franklin, crossed the street behind Edwards' bus, and disappeared into the night.

"They chased him down, and when they got done beating him, they walked down the street laughing and joking," recalled Edwards, who as of Friday was the sole witness who had come forward and spoken to police.
End of article excerpt

To come out and say this was fabricated without proof is wrong. Before making such accusations, we should honestly TRY to understand what it might be like to be the victim of a crime such as this, and they have people turn around and accuse you of making the whole thing up. In many ways, I think that would be more painful than the crime itself.

best story i've found on the situation:
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-583517.html

so the attack itself does NOT appear to be fabricated

on the other hand, he does not appear to be telling the whole story

it'll be interesting to see if anything else comes out

I am only interested in the truth, and always have been. A lot of horrible things happen to people in our community - not only violence but vast discrimination. In some areas of the United States, this is getting better. In my state of Connecticut, it is now against the law to fire someone for being gay. I think that is a good thing.

I also think that there are many hate crimes committed against our community that are never reported. They are not reported because people who have been the victim of a hate crime doesn't want to go through this - where people put the victim on trial and in essence, make them a victim again.

I honestly don't know if the crime was fake or not. It is beyond my comprehension that someone would fake a hate crime for publicity. You make yourself a target in a lot of ways by doing that. But, you seems to think it is. I would only caution you with this...

Before you accuse someone of doing this, be very careful. You are taking actions by questioning Mr. Stockwell that you may not be able to take back. If you are wrong, I would think he could take you to court for slander. You need proof.

But yes, I am interested in the truth. I am not interested in a smear campaign.

That photo was taken at a candlelight vigil/rally a few nights after the incident. I was there, that's what he was wearing, and that photo comes from an article in UNC's "The Daily Tar Heel" written the day of the rally. I spoke with a doctor friend of mine who assured me that some sort of tape or brace has to be worn on any broken nose. Thomas is not now, nor has he ever worn such a brace. Moreover, his face (in the photo and presently) bears no scars, nor does he have any bruises on his body.

Before I discuss the"Thomas Stockwell" websearch, I'd just like to point out that the search now pulls in about 1200 hits. Before the incident, this particular Thomas Stockwell pulled in under 10 hits. If this amount of attention can't be considered a motive, I don't know what could be!

Now, I can think of a couple reasons why this crime has not been uncovered as fake yet. First, there's no reason to do so. Convieniently enough, there were no witnesses, the seven (count 'em, seven) people that did this seem to have disappeared into the homophobic night (never having done this before, or apparently planning to do this again), and without a suspect, why would the police even begin to look into the veracity of the story. It would be a major waste of police resources.

Second, the truth in stories like this is seldom uncovered without whistleblowers like Adam and myself. I hope more people like us come forward.

Third, contrary to popular belief, the gay (or more appropriately liberal community) is exceedingly strong around Chapel Hill. Mr. Stockwell has become a poster boy, and I don't think this community is going to be inclined to be made a fool of itself by backtracking on this. Frankly, we all like the attention this has brought to the issue. But I have my own reasons for coming forward.

I am an openly gay man living not 3 miles from Thomas. Personally, I've spoken out to try to repair this community's reputation. Some people might say the ends -- talking about hate crimes, gay pride etc. -- justifies the means. I wholeheartedly disagree. The means are in fact absolutely abismal and nefarious. To make up a crime like this undermines our legal system, promotes the idea that all gay men are degenerate pathological liars, and reflects poorly on this city, state and country.

Thomas Stockwell, the truth will be exposed. And, Bill if you'd like to continue to post about this, I'll be glad to address your questions and concerns.

ok... Let's say you are right, that this crime was made up and fabricated. Show me proof. That photo was from the web. It was undated and never claimed to be taken after Mr. Stockwell was attacked. In other words, it could well have been before he was attacked.

I just did a web search for "Thomas Stockwell". What came up was the bashing, and the reporting of the hate crime. The police themselves are calling this a "hate crime". The last mention of it on the net is March 11, 2005. There is NO MENTION what so ever ANYWHERE that this was made up - not from any source I could find on the web, or from the police.

So, if this was made up, I would like you to post the link from a valid law enforcement agency or from a valid and respected news source saying that Mr. Stockwell fabricated this hate crime.

Until I see that, I won't believe that it was made up. I personally think that you (Jerome and Adam) are trying to drive your own agenda. What that is, I don't know, but you are trying awfully hard to try to prove that this crime did not happen. If it was made up, I should have been able to find that on the Internet.

I know Thomas and Adam, I'm afraid to say that you are completely correct. This alleged hate crime is completely made up. Use your best judgment and look at the picture at the top of this page. Does he look like he has a broken nose!?!? I assume it was a drug deal gone wrong, an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend attack or just a drunken stumble.

Well, being on the receiving end of a hate crime myself (I suppose you will call me a "media whore" now), I can't even imagine why someone would fake a hate crime. I'm glad the police did take me seriously. They found the boys who did it to me and they were prosecuted. I'm so glad that I didn't have people around accusing me of being a "media whore". That would have just added to my distress.

So, with the rampant hatred from so many in society towards gays (just read the papers), it's puzzling to me that you would assume that hate crimes are something that should be assumed that people do to themselves? That's just bazaar to me that you would say "we also can't assume that it DID happen". When a crime is reported, it is the duty of the police to assume it DID happen, until it is shown that it didn't happen. Otherwise, the police could pick and choose which crimes would be prosecuted and which crimes they didn't want to prosecute. They do not and should not have that option.

The other people who have filed false reports should be charged with filing a false report (a crime). The fact that they did that does not in any way say anything about Mr. Stockwell's attack. They have no bearing on this case.

As for carving letters on your forehead... I would think you would be a bit mentally unstable to do that in the first place. Having said that, it's a bit harder I would think to break your own bones to fake a crime.

How come no one else saw the crime? I don't know. Maybe the fact that it happened at 2am had something to do with it.

As far as you bringing up motive, if this was a hate crime, than what is wrong with looking to see if there is a need for a hate crimes law?

as to motive, how about this?

http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/02/4225bbbf2bc60

if this incident didn't happen, maybe you're still right that he isn't an attention whore

instead maybe he's a calculating idealist who's willing to sacrifice his body to further his goals

which i suppose many people would admire

we can't assume it didn't happen, fair enough

we also can't assume that it DID happen, ok?

there have been enough false reports to make this suspicious. if they were random people, how did they know he was gay? this was a busy and popular intersection, how come no one else saw this?

as far as self-inflicted injuries, how about the guy that carved his own forehead?

Adam,

No, we can't just assume that this really didn't happen until it is proven that the crime was faked. If that proves to be the case, then he should be charged with filing a false report.

Why would he do that? Anyone who would break their own bones (considerable pain and time to heal) would be, in my opinion, seriously mentally ill to the point of not being able to comprehend university level material.

It doesn't add up. Just because there were no witnesses does not mean the crime didn't happen. Until you provide proof to the contrary, my money's on Thomas Stockwell.

You seem to be pretty sure that Thomas Stockwell is lying. Do you know him? I find it odd that you would judge him an "attention whore", unless you know him or have something against him? Why would you assume he's lying, unless you have information of what happened? Perhaps you were there and just don't want to admit it? Perhaps you are more involved than you want to admit?

one person, no witnesses, no leads, NO EVIDENCE (besides the broken bones which were either inflicted by himself or some more embarrassing incident)

reminds me of this:
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/4027371/detail.html

and this:
http://www.thespoonsexperience.com/archives/2003/11/another_phony_h.php

and this:
http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/news/000424.html

can we all just admit that this didn't really happen and that Thomas Stockwell is an attention whore?

sad.. really sad! :( So much hate in this world and FOR WHAT?! I've come to notice that "real" straight guys could care less about gay people... it's the closet gay people that spend all their time thinking about homosexuality and trying to repress it that are "gay bashers" because they hate themselves.

...but I thought that Chapel Hill was a bastion of enlightenment. No??

Hey, it's North Carolina. They believe that Jesus wants them to beat up gays. If they get beat up maybe they'll stop 'wanting' to be gay. It's a choice you know !