Hate Crimes

[Soon]

Hundreds attend vigil after reported hate crime

Hundreds of people gathered with rainbow flags and candles outside the Capitol for a nighttime vigil sparked by a woman's account of a violent, hate-fueled attack that spread rapidly over the Internet on Sunday.

The woman said she was attacked early that morning by three masked men who barged into her house, bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties, cut her all over her body and carved homophobic slurs into her skin before dumping gasoline on her floor and lighting it with a match, said a friend who spoke to the Journal Star.

The friend said the woman crawled from her house, naked and bleeding and screaming for help before reaching the doorstep of a neighbor's home.

Late Sunday, police said they still were investigating the case and had yet to release an account of what they believe happened inside the home.

[Nat]

Teen arrested for assaulting woman on Thanksgiving day

23 year-old Mallory Owens attacked by her girlfriend's 18 year-old brother Travis Hawkins Jr. at his family's home in Mobile, AL.


DA: Not able to confirm 'hate crime'

Rich said it is early in the investigation and charges could be upgraded, depending on the evidence. Rich also said her office is still trying to determine a motive.
"Some people say the motive has been a hate crime. We have not been able to confirm that at this point. But that is part of the ongoing investigation,” said Rich.
If the beating is considered to be a hate crime, Hawkins could face federal charges.
"A hate crime as defined by law in the State of Alabama does not cover gay and lesbian rights. So that would be a federal charge that would need to be brought against the defendant and that would be the U.S attorney's office,” said Rich.

Family: Teen Beat Sister's Girlfriend for Being Gay


(Mallory - left, her girlfriend - right)


"She was invited over by the family to eat Thanksgiving. I did not want her to go, I begged her not to go, knowing how the family felt about her. But she said, 'They're trying to be nice.'"
Mallory's mother says this isn't the first time he's attacked her. Earlier this year, family members tell News 5 that Travis Hawkins Jr. hit Mallory over the head with a pipe wrench. She was injured, but the family did not pursue charges after that incident.
This time, she was beaten so badly that she's almost unrecognizable. She had to have facial reconstruction surgery, with metal plates put in her cheek bones.



Unfortunately, the District Attorney is familiar with the Hawkins family. Ashley Rich actually tried to prosecute the defendant's father, Travis Hawkins Sr., in January 2011, after he shot his son, Hawkins Jr. Since the son refused to testify, she was unable to pursue the case further.



Mallory has no health insurance. If anyone would like to donate to her medical bills, a fund has been set up in her name at any Regions Bank.

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by Nat

Teen arrested for assaulting woman on Thanksgiving day

23 year-old Mallory Owens attacked by her girlfriend's 18 year-old brother Travis Hawkins Jr. at his family's home in Mobile, AL.


DA: Not able to confirm 'hate crime'

Rich said it is early in the investigation and charges could be upgraded, depending on the evidence. Rich also said her office is still trying to determine a motive.
"Some people say the motive has been a hate crime. We have not been able to confirm that at this point. But that is part of the ongoing investigation,” said Rich.
If the beating is considered to be a hate crime, Hawkins could face federal charges.
"A hate crime as defined by law in the State of Alabama does not cover gay and lesbian rights. So that would be a federal charge that would need to be brought against the defendant and that would be the U.S attorney's office,” said Rich.

Family: Teen Beat Sister's Girlfriend for Being Gay


(Mallory - left, her girlfriend - right)


"She was invited over by the family to eat Thanksgiving. I did not want her to go, I begged her not to go, knowing how the family felt about her. But she said, 'They're trying to be nice.'"
Mallory's mother says this isn't the first time he's attacked her. Earlier this year, family members tell News 5 that Travis Hawkins Jr. hit Mallory over the head with a pipe wrench. She was injured, but the family did not pursue charges after that incident.
This time, she was beaten so badly that she's almost unrecognizable. She had to have facial reconstruction surgery, with metal plates put in her cheek bones.



Unfortunately, the District Attorney is familiar with the Hawkins family. Ashley Rich actually tried to prosecute the defendant's father, Travis Hawkins Sr., in January 2011, after he shot his son, Hawkins Jr. Since the son refused to testify, she was unable to pursue the case further.



Mallory has no health insurance. If anyone would like to donate to her medical bills, a fund has been set up in her name at any Regions Bank.

here's the link for the Facebook page Justice For Mallory

http://www.facebook.com/mallory.owen...<br /> <br />

[Parker]

Originally Posted by Nat

Teen arrested for assaulting woman on Thanksgiving day

23 year-old Mallory Owens attacked by her girlfriend's 18 year-old brother Travis Hawkins Jr. at his family's home in Mobile, AL.

I saw this last night and it sickened me ... especially since Hawkins was only charged with assault and released on bail the same day.

Mallory is in my thoughts ...

[Happy_Go_Lucky]

violence against women to be hate crimes, but if his sentence will be longer by this legality, good.

My wish is for this young lady to recover from her injuries. I'm afraid her physical injuries will be healed long before her emotional ones.

[Nat]

Update on Mallory Owens - her girlfriend picked her up from the hospital and brought her back to the place where she was attacked where she has given interviews stating the attack was not based on her orientation.

Mallory Owens: My Beating Was Not a Hate Crime

MOBILE, Alabama --
It's hard to believe, but just a few hours after News 5 visited Mallory Owens practically unconscious in the hospital, she woke up and left. She's now back at the place where it all started on Thanksgiving night.
"I'm okay, I'm good," said Owens. "Just a bad bad night."
Mallory's family told News 5 on Monday that she was beaten by her girlfriend's brother for being gay. Mallory doesn't remember much from that night, but says being gay is not the reason she was attacked.
"A lot of things have happened between us, but it doesn't make me hate her brother," said Owens. "I don't hate her family at all, or anybody for that matter."
Her girlfriend Ally Hawkins is by her side. She says her brother's actions are not justified, but he had his own reasons for the attack. They are reasons that will be released when the time is right.
"It's not a hate crime at all," said Ally Hawkins. "We both know the reason why this happened, and it doesn't make any excuses for him, I'm not defending him at all. I know why he was angry, and that will come out."
Mallory's accused attacker is 18-year-old Travis Hawkins Jr., who was arrested on second degree assault charges and later bonded out. His lawyer James Byrd says his client is now in hiding, after death threats left him fearing for his life.
"People get a story and go with it, and before it's over its an entirely different animal," said Byrd.
The story of Mallory's beating took the online community by storm. Soon, it was known around the world. Travis Hawkins' attorney says his client was already tried and convicted by people on the Internet who have no idea what really happened.
"People have taken this and overreacted, and made it something that it's not," said Byrd.
Still, Mallory's mother Kristi Taylor has met with Mobile's District Attorney, urging Ashley Rich to upgrade the charges against Hawkins to attempted murder.
More details should be released when Travis Hawkins goes to court on December 10th for his arraignment.

[Nat]

Mallory Owen's girlfriend's (Ally Hawkins) version of the story:



Mallory Owens' interview - now that she's not in the house where she was assaulted

Here's her official statement:

Official Statement from Mallory Owens and Family

I am represented by attorney Christine Hernandez. I am supported by my family, friends, several organizations including Equality Alabama and GLAAD as well as numerous other individuals who have offered a multitude of support to myself and my family including all of those that have donated to help me with my medical expenses. For all of you that have supported me, I am very grateful.

The last week has been the most traumatic several days I have ever experienced, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Not just for me, but for my family as well. Fortunately, we are a strong family, and we are sticking together as a family. On Thanksgiving Day, I visited the Hawkins’ home, the family home of my girlfriend Ally Hawkins. As I was leaving, I was brutally attacked by Travis Hawkins Jr., Ally’s brother. I believe that he intended to kill me. I was defenseless against him. This was not the first time Travis Hawkins Jr. attacked me and sent me to the hospital.

Travis Hawkins Jr. has been charged with Assault Second Degree by the District Attorney’s office. Although, I appreciate all the efforts of the hospital and EMS staff, police, all the investigators, and District Attorney Ashley Rich, neither I nor my family agree that Assault Second Degree is the right charge. We are very hopeful and optimistic that as Ms. Rich, her office and the police continue to investigate this crime, that the charges will be upgraded to attempted Murder. I was unconscious when the beating ended. I do not know what stopped him. I do know he has threatened to kill me before, he has attacked me with a metal pipe before, and on Thanksgiving Day he launched an unprovoked attack on me that left me unconscious, hospitalized, suffering horrific head trauma, severe injuries and in need of surgery and additional treatment. Since the attack, Travis Hawkins Jr. has been seen following my family and appearing at locations where they have gathered. He has threatened to finish me off. I believe as long as he is free on bond that my life continues to be in danger. Even beyond the physical harm, I am quite traumatized. I am afraid and I feel that I have been victimized repeatedly by the Hawkins family.

The interview at the Hawkins home was not requested by me, nor was I aware that the media would be at the Hawkins home. I was brought back to the home by Ally Hawkins. I wanted to be in my own apartment. Mr. Hawkins Sr. insisted we give the interview and statements were made. I believe Mr. Hawkins Sr. is very manipulative, I believe he organized the family and orchestrated the media representation to portray himself in a better light. I do not feel safe there. I was very uneasy and nervous while I was there. I was still very disoriented, weak, and intimidated. Mr. Hawkins Sr. has also threatened me with harm based on my relationship with his daughter. Travis Hawkins Sr. threatened me with a metal pipe while I was waiting in the car on a prior occassion. Travis Hawkins Jr. used a metal pipe to assault me on a prior occasion. He and his son pose a very real threat. I will not go back there.

It will be a very long time before I feel safe again. This sort of attack whether it is proven to be a hate crime or a crime derived from one man’s hate of another human being should not happen to anyone in this country. No one should have to endure an attack the way that I did. Neither should a mother have to see her daughter in the state that my mom had to see me.
During this investigation, many statements were made to the media, some were premature and misguided. All of us involved have been at the center of a huge media storm. At this time, we want to let the investigation continue and we need to heal. Ally Hawkins has continued to release statements and make arbitrary facebook posts and she has even offered a motive for her brother’s actions. Please know that Ally Hawkins is NOT SPEAKING for me, she is NOT representing me in the media in any way. Her statements and public posts on facebook or any other form of social media are NOT representative of my opinions, beliefs or words.

I am fortunate that my family’s love for me is unconditional. I fell in love with a girl. My family loves, accepts and supports me. They have shown nothing but love and acceptance throughout my attack, my time in the hospital, and the investigation of this brutal attack, they have been there for me, loving me and supporting me. I want to thank and publicly show my appreciation for my mom, my brother and sister, my Uncle Ricky, Linda, my grandma. Besides the countless individuals who have offered their support financially and in words of kindness, I also want to thank organizations like Equality Alabama and GLAAD for offering their direct support to me and my family, as well as working to create a culture in Alabama where people aren’t attacked for being who they are and loving who they love. Thank you to all those who have prayed, supported and advocated for myself and my family. For those of you who pray, we ask you to continue to pray for us as we heal.

[Soon]

Woman claims she suffered hate crime while defending bullied boy

/snip/

“It’s hard for me to stay strong when I see myself in the mirror,” the 27-year-old said, through her clenched jaw that’s been wired shut. Her face is badly swollen and bruised. “I can’t do anything for myself,” she said through tears.

Scarber is grateful simply to be alive. She said she was attacked at an elementary school playground for protecting a bullied four-year-old boy. The scuffle between children, however, quickly escalated into violence among adults, Scarber worries, because she is a lesbian.

....

Sondra said, ‘Can you please keep your hands off of him, he’s only four,’” Causey said.

The father became enraged, she said, when he realized Scarber, who wears baggy clothes and has short hair, is a woman, and that the two are lesbians. Friends since the third grade, Scarber and Causey have been girlfriends for three years. They’re raising Causey’s young son together.

“When he walked up thinking it was father and mom with the kid, he wasn’t as angry,” said Causey, 26, “but then when he figured out it was a female, he got like super pissed, and I don’t know why.”

She said the man punched and kicked Scarber repeatedly, hurling homophobic slurs at her while she lay on the ground, unconscious.

“He was like, ‘well if you think you’re a man… I’m going to treat you like a man,’” Causey said. “All she kept saying was, ‘I’m a female. I’m a female…' She never even had time to take her hands out of pockets to try and block herself.”

[Soon]

Ontario same-sex couple defiant after receiving threatening letters

Karen Dubinsky was shocked when she opened the mail and found a letter laced with homophobic slurs that said her family was not welcome in the city and they should leave “before it is too late.”

“I just had this chilling, weird sense of the contents,” said the Queen’s University professor who lives in the city with her partner Susan Belyea, 48, and their 13-year-old son.


The letter claimed to be authored by a “small but dedicated group of Kingston residents devoted to removing the scourge of homosexuality in our city.”

“I won’t say that we’re not afraid,” said Dubinsky, 55, adding that she and her partner of 21 years had the same response.

“We weren’t going to take them up on their offer and leave town.”

The letter threatened violence if the family did not leave.

“We will watch and wait, and then strike, at home and office, as need arises,” the letter read.

It was followed by a second note that threatened attacks using BB guns if the couple didn’t relocate.

Both letters were circulated on Facebook by the couple and their supporters.

Dubinsky said she immediately reported the letters to the police.

Spokesman Const. Steve Koopman said the police are taking the threats “very seriously” and that the “hate-based” letters were “a shock” to the entire community.

He said the letters could originate from anywhere and detectives from the major crime unit are following every lead.

One of the letters contained claims of ties to Kingston police.

“We absolutely, unequivocally believe that not to be true,” Koopman said, adding that he believes it was included as an “intimidation factor.”

He said the author or authors of the letters could be charged with criminal harassment and uttering threats to cause bodily harm or death.

Since receiving the letters, Dubinsky said her family and friends have taken to sitting on the front porch to “be visible.”

In almost 20 years of living in Kingston, Dubinsky said she’s never been on the receiving end of homophobia, even in a “milder form.”

The couple’s son is a “savvy kid” who “takes things like this in stride,” Dubinsky said.

“Having said that, he’s a kid and people just threatened his family,” she said. “The violence stuff is scary for him as it is for all of us.”

Dubinsky said the letters leave a lot of questions unanswered and she doesn’t know if anything will come of the investigation.

She added that her family is grateful for the community response, which has included flowers delivered to her doorstep, phone calls and support rallies.

“That helps us meet this kind of hatefulness,” she said. “It makes it easy to find courage.”