I
106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Tuesday • September 21, 1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 17*16 Pages
r
,
GUILTY
SALLIE TURNER/Tiif Battalion
Mary Verrett. sister of James A. Byrd Jr, speaks after the guilty ver
dict was announced. She said she put faith in the 12 juror’s verdict.
SALLIE TURNER/The Battalion
John Brewer, brother of Lawrence Russell Brewer, carries his broth
er’s belongings to a vehicle after the verdict was announced.
Special to The Battalion
Lawrence Russell Brewer, now awaits sentencing for the murder.
Brewer faces sentence i Churches offer support
of life in prison or death
BY RYAN WEST
The Battalion
Lawrence Russell Brewer faces
either death or life in prison fol
lowing the conviction of capital
murder for the dragging death of
James A. Byrd, Jr., which was an
nounced after four hours of jury
deliberation Monday.
Mary Verrett, one of Byrd’s six
sisters, said she put faith in the 12
jurors’ verdict.
“We were a little anxious be
cause the deliberation was
longer this time [compared to the
conviction of William King],”
Verrett said.
Verrett said there is little differ
ence between Brewer’s case and
King’s case.
“I want to see the ultimate
penalty,” she said. “I know the
jury will make the right decision.”
Guy James Gray, Jasper Coun
ty District Attorney, said the de
fense will now attempt to con
vince jurors that if Brewer is
locked-up for life he will not hurt
anyone else, which is a typical de
fense of a capital murder charge.
“This verdict sends a message
that is long past — racial rela
tions have improved in Texas and
we don’t want to slide back,”
Gray said.
He said the all-white jury was
never a worry because it does not
matter who the victim is; murder
is murder.
The punishment phase began
today following the verdict.
Closing arguments took an hour
and a half to complete, the defense
used the majority of the time.
The defense attempted to per
suade the jury that Byrd’s throat
was slashed by Shawn Berry be
fore he was dragged; therefore, the
crime was not as heinous and
Brewer did not deserve to be con
victed. The prosecution empha
sized the fact that Brewer has a
long history of being a criminal
and in every case he blames
someone else.
During the presentation of evi
dence relating to appropriate pun
ishment, the prosecution pointed
to Brewer’s time in the Texas De
partment of Correction Institute
for two counts of burglary, pos
session of a controlled substance
and revocation of his parole.
Prosecuting attorneys also pre
sented a “kite”, or prison letter
written by Brewer, in which he re
ferred to “tire rolling.”
Robert Strickland, Houston
deputy sheriff who has investi
gated gang-related crimes, said a
“tire” is slang for an African
American and to “roll a tire”
means to bring harm or death to
that person.
“Well, I did it and am no longer
a virgin!” Brewer’s letter said. “It
was a rush and [I] am still
lickin[g] my lips for more.”
see Brewer on Page 2.
to Byrds throughout trial
BY RYAN WEST
The Battalion
Members of Grace Bible
Church in College Station and
Shiloh Baptist Church in Bryan
are offering their prayers and
preparing food in support of the
family of James A. Byrd Jr., the
Jasper man dragged to death in
June 1998.
Throughout the capital mur
der trial in Bryan, the two
churches have provided both
lunch and dinner in the breakfast
room of the Byrd family’s hotel.
Mylinda Washington, one of
Byrd’s sisters, said the family is
grateful for all of the fellowship
and support the local churches
have provided.
“We’ve had more church
support down here than we had
in Jasper,” Washington said.
“It’s been a blessing; we just
can’t say enough.”
Mel Pruitt, coordinator of the
effort and a member of Shiloh
Baptist Church, said they could
not have prayed for more success.
Pruitt said everyday the meal
is set up “like a party for distin
guished people,” with table
cloths, center pieces and candy
on each table.
“The Byrds are such gracious
people, meeting them has been
spiritually rewarding,” she said.
Pruitt said it was encouraging
to see the members of Grace
Bible Church take such a posi
tive, sharing attitude.
“I’ve never met a more Christ
ian group of women [like those
from Grace Bible Church] who
want to share something spiritu
al,” she said. “It’s been the most
blessed experience I’ve ever had.”
Grace Bible Church pastor
Dwight Edwards said they want
ed to express the love of Jesus
Christ in a tangible medium for
the family.
“With as much media atten
tion and harassment as the
[Byrd] family faces during the tri
al, we wanted to provide an oa
sis during the day — a time they
could get away and enjoy them
selves,” Edwards said.
He said the trial is an oppor
tunity for members of Grace
Bible Church, predominantly
Caucasian, to work with Shiloh
Baptist Church, predominantly
African-American, to show that
Christ is the only hope for racial
reconciliation. 1
Shiloh Baptist Church rev
erend Larry Hall said members of
both churches have stepped for
ward and opened their arms to
show hospitality.
“We have people fasting and
praying everyday from both
churches,” Hall said.
“They call each other, work
together and get to know each
other. ”
see Churches on Page 2.
INSIDE
sports
•Making her mark
|A&M’s multi-talented
soccer player
I Alison Peters 1 ’V'
shines on the field.
Page 11
aggielife
• Last Free Exit
Band celebrates release of new
| album, A Day Waiting.
Page 3
opinion
• How much is that rifle in the
windoy/?
j Clinton’s gun
buy-back program
[ does not address
I the real problem.
Batt radio
Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at
1:57 p.m. for details on College
Station’s environmental awards.
138 students
take part in
CARPOOL
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
Caring Aggies “R” Protecting Over Our
Lives (CARPOOL) gave 138 students a ride
home from parties, clubs and bars this
weekend.
Jeff Shiefelbein, founder and chair of
CARPOOL and a senior management ma
jor, said the number of people who used
the service was more than expected.
After being bombarded with business
cards and lime green t-shirts all week, Roger
Dowling, a senior management information
system major, used CARPOOL to get home
after an evening at The Tap Friday night.
Dowling said the experience was fast
and helpful and he would definitely use the
CARPOOL service again.
“There were no problems at all,” he said.
“They didn’t ask any questions, they just
drove you right home.”
Shiefelbein said 36 people used the ser
vice Thursday, 54 Friday and 48 people
on Saturday.
Historian speaks on sexuality
KIMBER HUFF/The Battalion
Kevin Boehn, a junior biomedical science
major, and Amber Giles, a junior elementary
education major, keep track of outgoing cars
for CARPOOL Friday night.
Each night there was a particular place
where the majority of the calls came from.
He said on Thursday calls mainly came
from clubs and bars; on Friday calls came
from parties, bars and Yell Practice; Sat
urday pick-ups were almost entirely from
parties.
“A lot of people called and told us where
they were having a party, if we wanted to
come and sit,” Shiefelbein said.
“They were trying to be responsible and
looking out for their friends.”
Erik Haywood, a CARPOOL volunteer
and a senior sports management major, said
he could not believe the number of students
who helped the program.
see CARPOOL on Page 2.
BY BRADY CREEL
The Battalion
The technology of the fe
male orgasm was discussed
last night at a lecture given by
Dr. Rachel Maines, a historian
from New York, to a standing-
room only audience of Texas
A&M University students and
faculty.
She said its early uses in
cluded the treatment of a disease
called “hysteria” by early med
ical practitioners. In the past,
doctors prescribed horseback
riding to produce orgasm as
treatment for medical problems.
“My hypothesis is that
most of them were suffering
from chronic frustration,”
Maines said.
The lecture included a com
prehensive explanation of the
development of the vibrator.
Maines said the vibrator is the
fifth household appliance de
veloped. It was introduced
subsequent to the sewing ma
chine, electric fan, tea kettle,
and toaster.
“A woman does not live on
toast alone,” Maines said .
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion
Dr. Rachel Maines speaks
Monday on sexuality.
Maines said the purchase of
vibrators are illegal in Texas if
it is indicated that they will be
used for purposes other than a
back massage.
Maines presented a slide
show with examples of adver
tisements from catalogs, pic
tures of devices used for sexu
al pleasure such as vibrators
and “mounting devices” from
the mid-1800s to the present.
She said the introduction of
the electromechanical vibrator
coincided with the introduc
tion of electricity into the
home.
She said intercourse does
not always lead a woman to
orgasm and according to men,
sex doesn’t always include
women having an orgasm.
“Perhaps what we need is
a new definition of what real
sex is and I don’t think we are
going to use the Bill Clinton
one,” she said.
The lecture was only re
cently planned, but Maines’
trip to Texas has been sched
uled since March. Maine said
she thought all along that she
would be speaking at the Uni
versity of Texas in Austin, but
they were unwilling to let her
speak because of a lack of ini
tial interest in the subject.
She was later invited to
speak at A&M when she met
Jonathan Coopersmith, asso
ciate professor of history.
When officials in the Women’s
Studies department at UT-
Austin found out that she
would be speaking at A&M,
she was immediately offered a
chance to speak there.
“They [UT] weren’t going to
have Aggies ahead of them in
the vibrator race,” Maines said.