Gerald Knight Jr., 17, was jailed for a week for fatally stabbing
another teen who chased and attacked him using anti-gay slurs. Knight, who is
gay, was released. (Photo by Jessica Griffin/Philadelphia Daily News)
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By ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG
Friday, November 18, 2005
A judge has thrown out the manslaughter charge against Lucas Dawson, a 21-year-old
gay man who was beaten and chased by a group of five to seven other men because
he is gay. Dawson stabbed one of his attackers, 17-year-old Gerald Knight Jr.,
who died about an hour later.
On Oct. 29, Dawson, an aspiring singer, had just made it through three rounds
of auditions for Fox’s popular “American Idol” TV show before
he was rejected, according to local media reports. He was walking to a bus stop
in East Mount Airy, Pa., when a group of male teens began attacking Dawson,
first by throwing a basketball at him, according to his attorney, Kevin Birley.
Some of the comments made by the attackers indicated they were motivated by
Dawson’s sexual orientation, Birley said. Dawson walked down a side street
but the teens followed him. When they caught up with him, they started punching
and kicking Dawson until he fell to the ground, Birley said.
Dawson managed to get hold of a knife he kept with him since the first time
he was gay-bashed for kissing another man in a park. He waved it around and
started to run away again. But his attackers chased him and Knight grabbed him.
When Knight tried to punch him, Dawson stabbed him, Birley said. Dawson escaped
even though his attackers followed him and allegedly threatened to shoot him.
Dawson went home and told his mother what happened. When they learned that
Knight had died, Dawson went to the police. He was charged with manslaughter,
held on $30,000 bail, and stayed in jail for a week until a judge dismissed
the charges.
“It’s not like he could give them his wallet to stop the attack,”
Birley explained. “They just hated the fact he was gay.”
Knight’s family could not be reached for comment. In other media reports,
they have declined to discuss what happened.
Since Dawson’s case has gone public he has received an outpouring of
support, Birley said. One woman called Birley to offer Dawson a place to stay,
as he still fears for his life.
Often in these types of cases, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s
office charges suspects with murder and they must wait for a jury to decide
if it was self-defense or not, Birley said.
Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl agreed that in similar cases the person is charged
with murder, not manslaughter.
“We have to draw the line in the sand,” Riehl said. “At
some point the level of force is too much.”
He added that, “We know that Lucas did not set out to get into a physical
confrontation.”
Riehl said it’s unlikely that the D.A. will re-file charges.
“This is a truly tragic situation for everybody involved, and nobody
should have to worry that when they walk down the street they should be attacked
for their sexuality or any other reason,” said prosecutor M.K. Feeney,
according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
According to local media accounts, the district attorney may file charges
against the youths who attacked Dawson. Pennsylvania has a hate crimes law that
includes protections based on sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights
Campaign. The district attorney’s office was not available for comment.
Some hate crime activists have offered support to Dawson for defending himself
in an attack in which victims often suffer in silence.
Bias crimes against gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered people are
“hugely underreported,” said Randy Blazak, director of the Hate
Crimes Research Network. Victims often fear coming out to the police and, in
some cases, the media, he explained.
“Victims experience the crime differently,” he said. “They
can’t change their color or sexual orientation.”
Edward Dunbar, a psychologist who works with hate crime victims in Los Angeles,
agreed that his patients often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and
will avoid places where they could be gay-bashed again.
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