Out in the Mountains Cemetery Plot: GRAND JURY INDICTS THE DENVER 3 Garth Allen The following is a reprint of a flyer put out by ACT-UP Chicago with a little extra information added into it: Traditionally the Roman Catholic Church has opposed equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals. In Colorado, the Roman Catholic Church was instrumental to the passage of Amendment 2, a statewide amendment which allows for the legal discrimination of lesbians and gay men. Traditionally, the Roman Catholic Church has also opposed the use of con- doms as a means of stopping the spread of AIDS thereby leaving thousands to die as a result of the Church’s A1DSphobic pol- icies. THIS IS WRONG! On January 14, a group of AIDS activists outraged by the Catholic Church’s homo- phobic and AIDSphobic policies draped plastic bags bearing the word “AIDS” over tombstones in a Catholic cemetery. Their message painted a picture of what a cemetery will look like in the not—too— distant future if the Catholic Church con- tinues to oppose the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV: a cemetery in which tombstones relay AIDS as the cause of death. Great care was taken to en- sure that no harm was done to any tomb- stone. Eight months later, on the eve of the Pope’s arrival in Denver, a grand jury handed down indictments against ACT UP members Madrid St. Angelo, Lorna Wheeler, and Taylor St. John, charging each of them with two felonies and two misdemeanors related to the cemetery ac- tion. If convicted of these charges the Denver~3 could be sentenced to up to 18 years in prison. Warrants with bonds of $50,000 each were issued. The following day all three were arrested and taken into custody. Lorna, a resident of Los An- geles, was held in jail for 15 days after which she was extradited to Denver and allowed to post bond. Madrid and T ay- lor, both residents of Chicago, were held for nearly a week after which they bond- ed out for the sum of $10,000. All three have had their employment jeopardized, the security of their homes threatened, and their lives turned upside down. Two of the defendants are HIV+ and could stand to lose their lives in the face of a prison sentence. What awaits these AIDS activists is un- doubtedly a lengthy and costly legal bat- tle which unfortunately must be fought in Colorado; the home of Amendment 2. Although Amendment 2 has recently been repealed, that decision (to repeal Amendment 2) is being appealed and ac- tivists have mixed thoughts on what af- fect Amendment 2 will have on their case. But what is known is that the hear- ing for the Denver 3 is being held in one of the most conservative courts in C01- orado and the State of Colorado is the home to the largest KKK scene west of the Mississippi! THE USE OF A GRAND JURY A grand jury was used to divide the les- bian, gay, and AIDS activist movement in Colorado. Successfully, the state (pros- ecution) was able to infiltrate, weed out, and gather testimony from members ofthe gay and lesbian community to produce in- dictments against the three ACT UP members. This is the first time a Grand Jury has ever been used against any as- pect of the Queer Liberation Movement inclding direct action activists struggling against AIDS. The Grand Jury is a federal tool that is used to gather information about and around cases where crimes have allegedly been committed. The GrandJury has a series of powers which includes the power to subpoena witnesses to a Grand Jury without ever pressing charges on any crime. The witness then is obliged to answer all questions without thepresence of a lawyer; and if the wit- ness feels they may incriminate them- selves they are reserved the “right” to cite the 5th Amendment. After this occurs a judge can be called to the case and grant witness immunity, in other words, any thing you say that may incriminate your- self for cannot be followed up on by the state, but the problem is that if someone else comes in and testifies and is grated immunity then the state can use their tes- timony to press charges against you.which has been done to several ac- tivists over the years. 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