Panhandler’s killing part of trend in the U.S., homeless advocates say

The 62-year-old woman accused of shooting the man has been charged with
murder.

CINCINNATI (AP) — A panhandler who asked for 25 cents was shot and killed — a confrontation that homeless advocates say is part of a wider trend of increasing attacks on the homeless nationwide.

The attorney for the woman charged in the shooting, however, denies that homelessness was an issue in the case.

Geraldine Beasley, 62, was charged with murder and bond was set at $500,000 on Wednesday in the death of Donald Francis, 44, who police believe was homeless. Police said Francis had been standing outside a gas station late Monday asking people for money.

Beasley had complained about the panhandler to someone else and when he approached her to ask for 25 cents, she pulled out a gun and shot him, police said. Francis died at the scene.

“I view this as a tragedy,” said Georgine Getty, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. “I think that in our society we have so much fear and misunderstanding of homelessness and homeless people that it can lead to extreme violence.”

Mental illness issues?

Beasley’s attorney, Massimino Ionna, said Wednesday that there have been some allegations of mental illness issues with his client, but he was still trying to determine whether those issues exist.

Ionna said it was too early to comment on a possible plea because the case has not yet gone to a grand jury.

“I can say that this person [Beasley] is someone who generally was a friend to the homeless,” said Ionna. “We would deny allegations that this had anything to do with homelessness.”

A message seeking comment was left at the Hamilton County prosecutor’s office Wednesday.

Reported attacks

Getty said that while there were no confirmed attacks on homeless people last year in Cincinnati, a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless showed 142 reported attacks on the homeless nationwide in 2006 compared with 86 in 2005. Those attacks included five rapes, six people set on fire and 20 murders.

Homeless advocates in Cleveland say there have been increasing attacks on the homeless in Northeast Ohio. There have been at least six attacks — including one killing — in Cleveland since February and two attacks in Akron, said Brian Davis, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. There were only two incidents involving hate crimes against the homeless reported to police in Ohio in 2006, Davis said.

Homeless advocates consider a crime against a homeless person a hate crime when it is perpetrated specifically because the victim is homeless or is engaged in activities — such as panhandling — that are often associated with homelessness, said Getty, adding that only a small portion of the homeless population engage in panhandling.

Cincinnati and many other cities have tried to limit panhandling with ordinances restricting when and where people can panhandle on city streets.

“These laws tend to dehumanize the homeless population and reinforce the idea that anything can be done to the homeless because they don’t count,” said Getty.

Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine, who supported the city’s restrictions on panhandlers when he served on city council, said he thinks there is a place for ordinances that prevent aggressive panhandling.

“I think people deserve to be able to walk in public spaces without being asked for money, but I certainly don’t see any connection with these ordinances and violence against panhandlers,” he said.