FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 10, 2001

The Human Rights Campaign in a letter today urged the FBI to open an investigation into the murder of Fred Martinez Jr. in Cortez, Colorado, as a hate crime based on race and/or sexual orientation.

"We hope the FBI can step up and do everything in its power to ensure that the Martinez case is handled appropriately and that it is successfully prosecuted," said HRC National Field Director, Seth Kilbourn. "Our intent is to make sure that the local law enforcement officials have all the resources they need to successfully prosecute this case."

On June 21, Fred Martinez, Jr., a 16-year-old, Native American high school student — who described himself as openly gay, transgender and "two-spirit" — was found beaten to death. Shaun Murphy, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder and police were told that Murphy had bragged to a friend that "he had beat up a fag." While the local authorities have a suspect in custody, there is some doubt regarding the quality of the evidence collected so far and the autopsy report is indeterminate regarding cause of death.

"We are concerned that the local authorities in this case are in need of assistance to ensure that the case is fully investigated and successfully prosecuted," said HRC Deputy Legal Director and Senior Counsel Kevin Layton in the letter.

Federal law does not allow the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate hate crimes based solely on the victim's sexual orientation. Current law only covers hate crimes based on race, religion, national origin and color. Recent press reports indicate that the murder may be a hate crime based on not only on sexual orientation, but also on race or national origin. And because the alleged perpetrators would have had to cross a state line to commit the crime, there may be a legal basis for federal involvement.

On July 26, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-7 vote in favor of sending the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA) to the full Senate. LLEEA would extend basic hate crime protections to all Americans in all communities by adding real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to the categories covered by existing federal hate crimes law as well as by removing the federally protected activity requirement. The bill would also provide federal technical and financial assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.

"If the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act were in effect today, there would be no question that the federal government could assist law enforcement officials in Cortez," said Kilbourn. "But today, we can only ask and hope that the FBI and Department of Justice will be able to make such assistance available under current law."

According to the Colorado Anti-Violence Program — which is also monitoring the Martinez case — no training is required for law enforcement officers in Colorado on how to identify, investigate, or document incidents of violence motivated by bias. CAVP estimates that fewer than 10 percent of officers in the state have received any training about hate crimes.

The mother of the victim, Pauline Mitchell, has said she reported Martinez missing on June 18, called the police two days later, read about a body being found on June 23 and called the police again when she was told that the body had not been identified. Press reports also have indicated that the Sheriff's office initially said that the teenager might have fallen, hit his head and died then later called the death a homicide.

In addition, Mitchell said she first learned of the autopsy results — the victim's skull fracture, the slashed abdomen, the bleeding — in the newspaper. She has also indicated that she was left to discover the spot where her son died on her own and found the site strewn with garbage and discovered some of her son's blood-matted hair on the site. The family was also not notified of the arraignment of Murphy, according to press reports, and the District Attorney was quoted as saying that his office had not been informed of the arraignment and that he just "happened to be there."

A Denver memorial is planned to express comfort and support for Mitchell and her family at the Troy Chavez Memorial Peace Garden on Friday, August 10. Ms. Ana Chavez founded the Native American sacred space in honor of her son, a victim of violence.

On Saturday, August 11 Judy Shepard — mother of slain Wyoming University student Matthew Shepard and member of HRC's Board of Directors — will join Mitchell in a candlelight vigil at the Parque de Vida Amphitheater in Cortez. The vigil is being organized by Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, PFLAG Durango/Four Corners, the Four Corners Gay & Lesbian Alliance for Diversity, the Colorado Anti-Violence Program, and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The vigil is part of a five-day statewide series of events. PFLAG has asked its chapters across the country to hold similar vigils to remember Martinez

"Nearly three years ago, the intense media attention focused on my son's death was a wake-up call for all of us: it brought the epidemic of hate violence out of obscurity and into the public debate," said Shepard. "I see Fred's death, combined with a recent escalation of hate-violence across the country, as a clear sign that there is much more to be done before we can live free from fear and hate."

In 1999, the last year for which the FBI has statistics, there were more than 4,000 reported hate crimes based on race, more than 1,400 based on religion, 1,300 based on sexual orientation, 830 based on ethnicity and 19 based on disability. Colorado is one of eighteen states that do not include sexual orientation in its hate crimes law; and one of 46 states that do not include gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.