The City of Brotherly Love

Gay man freed in killing

By ALYSHA BRENNAN & THERESA CONROY
abrenna@phillynews.com

LUCAS Dawson began carrying a knife after being attacked while kissing his male lover in a South Philadelphia Park four years ago.

Now, after a second assault by gay bashers - one of whom he killed in self-defense - Dawson's thinking about getting a gun.

The 21-year-old was cleared yesterday of charges in the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old boy who was among a group that attacked him near his East Mount Airy home on Oct. 29.

There was great relief at the Dawson home yesterday after the decision by a Municipal Court judge, but now the concern is his safety.

Last night, Dawson packed to leave home for fear of retaliation.

"I mean, seven guys jumped me, and one guy died," he said. "There's still six other people that want to hurt me.

"I fear for my safety, and that's why I'm moving away," he added. "I won't carry a knife on me anymore, but I am considering getting a gun permit."

David Diggs, the boyfriend of Lucas' mother, Lisa, said Lucas was not safe in the neighborhood any longer.

Lucas had been in jail since he was arrested after the stabbing of Gerald Knight, who was one of five to seven teens - all strangers to Dawson - who beat him and who he said called him a "faggot."

"My mom missed me while I was gone because I was always singin' up a storm," Dawson said.

Yesterday, he flashed a weary smile after Municipal Judge Gerard Kosin-ski dismissed the manslaughter charge.

Dawson, wisp-thin, frightened and frail, was released after the hearing.

Defense attorney Kevin Birley said Dawson had acted in self-defense.

"We can't forget that my client was a victim of a hate crime," Birley said.

"They wanted to hurt him. It wasn't that they were trying to get money or they had an argument with him," Birley said. "They simply wanted to hurt him so they kicked him and punched him... Even the first stab didn't stop the attack. It took a second stab to stop the attack."

Prosecutor M.K. Feeney said a jury should decide whether it was manslaughter or self-defense, but Kosinski disagreed.

"Looking at the circumstances here, I agree with the defense," Kosinski said after the preliminary hearing.

It was an unusual move for the district attorney's office to charge Dawson with voluntary manslaughter instead of a general murder charge. Feeney said in court that her office had made that decision after looking at all the facts.

"This is truly a tragic situation for everybody involved, and nobody should have to worry that when they walk down the street they should be attacked for their sexuality or any other reason," she said.

Dawson said the teens followed him as he headed for a bus stop. The teens taunted him for being gay and repeatedly threw a basketball at him, he said.

"One of them punched me in my lip," Dawson said in his statement. "Then, they all started punching me and knocked me to the ground. I was scared and I felt like if I didn't get up they would probably kill me. I felt a wave of strength and I got up... I took out the knife and waved it."

When Knight punched him, Dawson said he thrust the knife into his chest.

"I didn't think the knife went in because he kept punching me, so I stuck the knife in him again," Dawson said.

After the hearing, Diggs said the family felt sorry for the Knight family. "They lost their kid," he said.

The pain of that loss was evident on the face of Knight's father. When the judge announced the dismissal of charges, he exclaimed, "That's my son!" When approached outside the courtroom, he yelled angrily at a reporter, saying he didn't want to talk about his son.

"If you really wanted to know who he was, you should have come to the funeral," he shouted.

At the Dawson home yesterday, Lucas said, "I want to put this all behind me. My life has been turned upside down and I have to start over."

"It makes me sad," Dawson added. "I broke down in court today. I never wanted to hurt anybody... . I was trying to get these guys away from me.

"My mom said, 'You might feel bad about killing someone, but if you didn't have that knife, somebody would be knocking on my door telling me my son's dead.' "

Lisa Dawson, 40, said she is happy to have Lucas back at home, and is looking forward to finally being able to sleep through the night.

"I'm relieved," she said. "The air feels clean again."

Dawson says he'll continue pursuing an acting and modeling career. "When I was in prison, I got to thinking what I was going to do with my life," he said.

"I would like to help gay people so that this type of thing won't happen again," he said.

"It's just about ignorance, you know? I believe what you put out, you get back. And I want to give back."