CRIME
Family Demands Justice In Gay Black Man’s Murder
Advocates place pressure on police to conduct thorough probe of Louisiana case
BY MATT TRACY
Days following the unexplained
shooting death of a 29-year-old out
gay Black man in Louisiana, the
victim’s family said local police have
left them in the dark — and now they are demanding
answers and justice.
McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln’s family fi led a
missing persons report on the morning of May
15 after he had been gone for more than 24
hours from his home in Alexandria, Louisiana,
a small city roughly 120 miles northwest of Baton
Rouge. Hours later, cops found Lincoln dead
with a gunshot wound in Alexandria, but the
family was not immediately informed. Instead,
they said they found out about Lincoln’s death
through neighbors who saw news reports.
The family says they have since received little
communication from police, forcing them to
seek out details on their own. Now the family
is turning to the National Black Justice Coalition
(NBJC) in an effort to ensure that Lincoln’s
death is handled appropriately.
“The police have a responsibility to ensure
justice for the people of this parish,” Pamela
Lincoln, McKinsey’s mother, said in a written
statement through the NBJC. “They have not
done enough to fulfi ll their oath. They haven’t
protected and served us.”
Pamela Lincoln added that her “openly gay”
NATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION
McKinsley LaKeith Lincoln, an out gay man, was found shot to
death in Alexandria, Louisiana.
child was “the target of harassment and discrimination,”
fueling additional questions about
who could have been responsible for her child’s
death and why.
After NBJC mobilized a pair of civil rights attorneys,
Benjamin Crump and Jasmine Rand,
as well as Louisiana State Representative Edward
C. “Ted” James, to help encourage a full
investigation and spread the word about the
murder, Alexandria Mayor Jeffrey W. Hall said
the police department would commit to a complete
investigation and examine the case as a
hate crime, but it provided very few details to
Gay City News.
“A criminal investigation into the unfortunate
death of Mr. Lincoln is being conducted,”
an Alexandria Police Department spokesperson
told Gay City News in an email. “All aspects of
any criminality are being considered to include
the possibility of hate crime involvement. So as
to not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation,
no information regarding any potential
suspects or persons of interest will be released
at this time.”
NBJC executive director David Johns said
the rash of deadly violence targeting LGBTQ
people is part of a broader pattern of intolerance
seen during the Trump administration.
“We should all be clear about the fact that
hate crimes against people of every racial and
ethnic category increased across the board after
the 2016 election,” Johns said. “Trump has
escalated the violence with racist rhetoric and
destructive policies designed to divide and keep
some of us locked out of access to opportunity.
The clearest consequences of these deleterious
actions are evident in these examples of vitriol,
violence, and death.”
John encouraged individuals to call on Mayor
Hall and the police department to “conduct a
complete and full investigation.”
Childhood Sex Abuse Victims Have More Claim Time
Deadline under New York State Child Victims Act extended from August 14 to January 14
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The coronavirus pandemic
has forced Governor
Andrew Cuomo to
extend the deadline for
fi ling new childhood sexual abuse
claims under New York’s Child Victims
Act.
The legislation enacted last year
allowed for sex abuse survivors in
cases that had been time-barred
or expired to fi le a claim by August
14 of this year. But the pandemic
led to a reduction in court service,
thus limiting the ability for survivors’
attorneys to fi le and prepare
cases.
“Because of the reduction in
court services, we want to extend
that window and we’ll extend it
for an additional fi ve months until
Jan. 14, 2021, because people
need access to the courts to make
their claim,” Cuomo said during
his Friday daily briefi ng. “Justice
too long delayed is justice denied,
Martin Luther King, Jr., said. So
we will extend that window for
people to bring their case.”
Out gay Manhattan State Senator
Brad Hoylman applauded Cuomo’s
decision, but noted that the
dire state of New York’s economy
will further hinder the ability of
many sex abuse survivors to make
their claim even under the extended
deadline.
Hoylman and Assemblymember
Linda Rosenthal are sponsoring
legislation that would extend the
look-back window for the Child
Victims Act by a full year.
“As the unemployment rate
spikes above 14 percent, it’s unreasonable
to expect survivors of
child sexual abuse to do the emotional
and legal work necessary to
fi le CVA lawsuits while simultaneously
fi ghting to pay rent and put
food on the table,” Hoylman said
in a written statement. “Survivors
need the assurance that New York
will stand with them, even after
the pandemic ends. That’s why
we must pass my legislation with
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal
to extend the Child Victims
Act’s look-back window by a full 12
months.”
The Child Victims Act allows
individuals who were sexually
abused to fi le claims against not
only their attacker, but also public
and private institutions with whom
the attacker was affi liated. It took
more than a decade for the act to
become law, as the New York State
Conference of Catholic Bishops and
other organizations opposed it year
after year due to feared repercussions
from the expanded liability.
Hoylman and Rosenthal were
among the key sponsors of the
Child Victims Act enacted in February
2019.
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