A 23 year old homosexual is thrown to his death off a bridge in Bangor, Maine by three teenagers. This is the story of the rehabilitation of the youngest of his killers.
It is 10:15 on the night of July, 7th, 1984 and two young homosexuals are walking across a small vehicular and pedestrian bridge in Bangor, Maine, quietly talking. They have just left a supper meeting of Interweave, a local gay and lesbian support group...
Suddenly, a car screeches to a halt alongside of them and three drunken teenagers jump from the vehicle and begin to accost them, calling them names and asking them to admit whether they are homosexuals or not. Upon admission that they are, the three boys push and slap the two men. One of the homosexuals says "run" and the two men flee across the street, away from the boys. One of the men makes it to safety and runs down a flight of stairs alongside the bridge. The second man is not so lucky. He trips on the curb and falls heavily to the sidewalk coming to rest at the base of a heavy, black railing. The three teenagers, who had just stood watching the two men flee, now see the man fall, and as if on an unspoken signal, run across the street and begin to punch and kick the prostrate form of the fallen man. The man's name is Charlie Howard, a local homosexual, and a daily frequenter of the downtown streets and known among his friends for his sense of humor and gentleness. Howard grasps the railing with both hands and screams for help. He pleads with the three teenagers to stop, yelling "fire" and "help" with no avail. Then, after a few moments of the beating, one of the trio says, "let's throw him over," and they wrench Howard's hands from the railing and throw him over it and into the darkness of the granite-enclosed stream. The three boys look over the railing and see Howard splash into the water and then stand up frantically trying to hold his footing. They quickly turn and run away, towards their car, slapping themselves on the back and laughing about what had just taken place.
Meanwhile, Howard's friend is standing above him, yelling encouragement to get to the walls of the stream and hold on, that he was going help. The man runs to a fire alarm call box and pulls it. He then rushes to a nearby Fair, gathers some security officers and together they hurry to Howard's aid. But it is too late. Howard, who cannot swim and who suffers from an acute case of asthma, has disappeared under the surface of the water. The three boys ride away from the crime scene, unaware of their victim's plight, pleased with their actions in helping to rid Bangor's streets of homosexuals. And now the rest is history.
About the story:
Written by author Edward J. Armstrong, of Hampden, Maine, PENITENCE: A True Story, has been seven years in the writing and takes the reader from one week before Howard's death, intertwines the story between the victims and the protagonists, relates all of the details of the crime itself, many of them told for the first time, and then follows the life of fifteen year old Jim Baines, the youngest of Howard's attackers. The story details Baines' incarceration at the Maine Youth Center, his life there and what happened to him. The reader watches as Baines comes to a full realization of what he has done and then, although demoralized by the enormity of his crime and contemplating suicide, making a conscious decision to change his life.
Baines agreed to fully cooperate in the writing of the story in the hopes that it would help to prevent something like it from happening again and only if the author would make it known to the readers that he feels that all types of prejudice and hatred are wrong and that he wanted no financial gain from its writing. Therefore, a major portion of the proceeds will go to the PEPP Program, a scholarship in Mr. Howard's name at his high school and the Eastern Maine AIDS Network.
A screenplay for this book has been completed and negotiations are in the works for either a major motion picture or made for television movie. Don't wait for the movie - Order your copy today!
You can ORDER your copy of PENITENCE today for only $19.95 (shipping/handling already included). Or you can contact:
LUCY MADDEN ASSOCIATES
P.O. Box 1335
Bangor, Maine 04402
VOICE: 207-942-4665
FAX: 207-945-4695
E-Mail: You can email interactive marketing group for information! (please reference Penitence in your message)