Baltimore Alternative, August 1990

Baltimore Sun Rethinks Gay/Lesbian Policies.. .p. 6 Zinman/BSO Release Phonographic Legacy...p. 30 The В a Ы more Avqvsr 1990 ALTERNATIVE ттвтттшштятт Murder Case to Be Reopened Real Killer May Still Be Free According to an article by Dan Casey that appeared in the Annapolis newspaper The Capital, Bernard L. Ward, Jr., age 30, convicted of the 1988 brutal stabbing death of Edward E. Brewer, may be in¬ nocent. Brewer was a former doorman at The Club Atlantis and well-known at Bal¬ timore’s gay bars. Everything hinges on the question: was Ward, as he claims, ac¬ tually in Florida when Brewer was slain in Glen Bumie? Evidence disclosed in a three-month investigation conducted by Casey suggests that Ward left town three days before the November 15, 1988, murder and stayed in Tallahassee until Thanksgiving Day. Evidence that indicates the wrong per¬ son might be in jail — and Brewer’s killer still at large — includes: 1) telephone bills documenting long¬ distance collect calls Ward purportedly made to friends while driving to Florida on November 12 — three days before the murder; 2) the testimony of Linda Wilson, a woman Ward and his fiancee were staying with in Florida, who says Ward was there every night from November 13 through November 24, and recalls that Ward drove her to a doctor’s appointment November 14 (Ward independently recalled the trip); 3) two former FBI document experts’ statement that Ward’s handwriting is on a court document filed in Tallahassee on November 16, about 14 hours after the killing; and 4) a lie detector test administered by Billy Thompson, a respected polygraph examiner who reported: "...Based on the polygraph charts conducted I am of the opinion that [Ward] was truthful when he said he was not involved in [Brewer’s] homicide...” (polygraph testing is 80-85% accurate, he said). Assistant State’s Attorney Ronald Na- dich, who prosecuted Ward, has reviewed the newspaper’s evidence and still believes Ward guilty, although he conceded that the new evidence is disturbing and said he would ask county police to investigate. “In¬ sofar as I am concerned, you’ve presented enough to warrant our office looking into continuing our investigation into the case to ascertain whether w not what you’ve produced requires us to take some action,” said Nadich. According to Baltimore County police reports, Edward E. Brewer, 25, was a co¬ caine-abusing gambler $2000 in debt; he lived off money from his parents, money won gambling, or loans from friends and acquaintances. Brewer also went by the; names “Fast Eddie” and “Eddie Perenza” and ’’Eddie Provenzano.” He was last seen by his family the afternoon of November 13, 1988. About midnight November 15 Brew¬ er’s car burned in the parking lot of Chat¬ ham Executive Suites in Glen Bumie. The lot is next to the Stoll Manor House, a boarded-up old mansion at Crain Highway and Furnace Branch Road. Investigators found a charred gas can inside the car, and ruled the blaze arson; there was no sign of Brewer. Nearly a month later, on December 12, an Anne Arundel County police officer, searching the mansion for a run-away teenager, discovered Brewer’s de¬ composing body, nude except for his socks. An autopsy revealed twenty-one stab wounds. Brewer’s neck was broken and he had been bludgeoned. The medical examiner ruled he bled to death, and po¬ lice concluded from evidence at the house that he had been killed there. Investigators determined Brewer probably was mur¬ dered the night his car burned. By the next day detectives had a sus¬ pect — Ward — and a warrant for his arrest. Ward’s criminal history included homo¬ sexual solicitation, assault, destruction of property, and disorderly conduct. With a see MURDER CASE page 2 Bush Signs Landmark Anti- Discrimination Bill Gay Lobbyists Invited to White House Again Raising the ire of conservatives, President Bush signs historic and controversial Americans with Disabilities Act. photo by Palsy Lynch by Cliff O' Neill WASHINGTON — President George Bush, before a massive crowd of onlook¬ ers which included gay and lesbian lobby¬ ists, on July 26 signed into law a landmark piece of legislation which will finally ban discrimination on the basis of disability — including AIDS and HIV infection. “With today’s landmark signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Bush before signing the bill, “every man, woman, and child with a disability can now pass through once-closed doors into a bright new era of equality, independence, and freedom.” The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), affecting the more than 43 million disabled Americans nationwide, will out¬ law discrimination on the basis of dis¬ ability in the areas of employment, public accommodations, transportation, and tele¬ communication systems. The bill answers calls from virtually every AIDS panel in the history of the epidemic, including in it a stringent ban on AIDS-related dis¬ crimination nationwide. Before what has been called the largest crowd at a White House bill-signing ceremony in recent memory. Bush [raised the accomplishments of the disability community which helped effect the bill’s passage. “This historic act is the world’s first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities,” Bush added. “And it’s passage has made the United States the international leader on this hu¬ man rights issue,” adding that leaders of Sweden, Japan, the Soviet Union, and all twelve members of the European Econom¬ ic Community have expressed to him that they now hope to enact similar legislation in their nations. The signing of the bill had initially been delayed over a controversy as to see BUSH SIGNS page 2 Amidst rumors of "earthquakes," thousands gather in Vancouver to participate in Gay Games III and Cultural Arts festival. Area athletes and members of Baltimore’s Star Spangled. Band are participating. See story page 23