Award-Winning Documentary Details 1993 Willacoochee Hate Crimes
Crimes Included Death Threats & House and Cross Burnings
Luke Roberts
Enterprise Staff Writer December 2, 2009
More than sixteen years have past since a gay male couple living in Willacoochee were the victims of several acts of
what is considered to be hate crimes, and both men are still searching for answers as to exactly who was responsible.
The case attracted national attention in small town south Georgia in 1993, and now an award-winning documentary
recalls the “heinous” events that took place.
Just to summarize what occurred, in 1993, gay couple Roy Kirkland, a Willacoochee native, and his partner at the
time, Doug Sebastian, made the decision to move from Atlanta back to Roy’s childhood home in Willacoochee.
Everything seemed to be in the norm for the couple, but things quickly took a turn for the worse and the men suddenly
became targets of hate crime.
It all started in the early months of 1993 when Kirkland and Sebastian returned home from a night out and found their
mailbox destroyed in their front yard. Not thinking much of it, the couple continued on without any fear, believing the
incident to be just some kids being kids.
But shortly thereafter, on July 21, 1993 to be exact, Kirkland and Sebastian were awoken one morning by Kirkland’s
brother who delivered some scary and frightening news: someone had placed and burnt a cross in the gay couple’s
front yard.
The couple elected to contact the local Willacoochee Police Department and an officer responded to the residence
where the charred cross still stood in the couple’s yard.
Kirkland says the Willacoochee officer that responded to the scene and said he was going to file a misdemeanor
incident report, but nothing ever came of it. Kirkland says he was “surprised” that only a misdemeanor report was filed,
since cross burning was and still is a federal offense. Kirkland says to this day he doesn’t believe the incident was
properly investigated by the Willacoochee authorities or Georgia Bureau of Investigation authorities. He also said he
believes since the act was a federal offense, it should have been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“They didn’t take any forensic evidence or anything,” stated Kirkland. “In fact, one of the officers told us that the
burning cross was probably put in our yard by “the niggers down the road.”
The District Attorney’s Office was a help to Kirkland and Sebastian though and both men say that DA Investigator
Tony Giddens and his organization was the “only organization we trusted.”
After about one month with no incidents, Kirkland and Sebastian decided to go out of town for the weekend. When
they returned home in late August of ’93, they discovered their mailbox again destroyed. Not only was the mailbox
destroyed, but it seems whoever was responsible had left the couple several “vulgar and threatening” messages on the
men’s answering machine.
In these messages, both Kirkland and Sebastian’s lives were threatened and several homophobic remarks were
made. This terrified the two men.
A Willacoochee City Council member at the time also made what would now be considered “controversial” statements,
saying he wasn’t surprised by what happened to Kirkland and Sebastian since Willacoochee was largely “anti-gay.”
Just days later, Kirkland and another friend were at the home while Sebastian was at work when someone started
driving by the house and screaming threatening remarks.
Fearing for their safety, Kirkland and the other man went to a motel in Tifton where Sebastian worked, not knowing the
“evil” act that was going to take place later that night.
When they returned back home to Willacoochee the following day, Kirkland and Sebastian pulled into their yard only
to discover someone had set fire to their home.
This “devastated” the couple, and Kirkland commented, “To this day I don’t know and never will know what we did to
attract such a negative reaction. This was my hometown.”
No one was ever charged or arrested for these acts of hate crime, and Kirkland is still miffed about the investigation or
what he calls “a lack thereof.”
“Even though many years have passed, I still want answers. Who burnt the cross? Who burnt my home? Who left
the death threats on my answering machine? These are all questions that have never been answered. In a small town
like Willacoochee where everybody knows everybody, somebody knew something and still knows something. We had a
clearly recorded voice leaving these threatening messages and I still cannot believe that no one was identified.”
Kirkland later obtained a copy of the case file from the GBI and says he was “shocked” that there was no mention of
the death threats or the mailbox destruction in the report. “This only led me to further believe that we were never taken
seriously.”
The gay couple also had to battle with their insurance company to receive compensation for their charred home, and
it took then State of Georgia Insurance Commissioner Tim Ryles to get this complete.
Kirkland says he and Sebastian were inspired to film the documentary after Kirkland came across a box containing
newspaper clippings about the hate crimes. “I just happened to come across a box with all of this stuff in it and it
brought back a lot of bad memories about some terrible events. I still get sick to my stomach when thinking about just
what occurred, and it took a while to film this documentary because it was so hard to relive these events.”
The documentary was filmed and produced by Kirkland and Sebastian through Sebastian’s production company and
since its release has drawn “rave” reviews from those who have watched it.
The film was shown at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival and took home the award for
“Best Documentary” against an estimated 25 other documentaries.
It was also shown at the Atlanta Out On Film Festival and has since been shown at the Washington, Georgia Retro
Cinema.
Kirkland commented, “We have received both positive and negative feedback about our documentary, though I can
say the majority of the feedback has been positive. So many people have been supportive. This stuff is still going on
across our country, and though people have become more tolerant, there is and always will be some who remain bigots
full of hate. In May of this year a similar event happened in Oregon after a white woman adopted a black child. Like us,
the woman had a cross placed and burnt in her yard.”
Kirkland continued, “Even though 16 years have come and gone, we still want answers and yes, I’m still angry about
the entire situation. I’m also angry at myself for cowering at the time, but this documentary let’s our story be heard and
hopefully will bring light to the situation.
“I get sad about our country, because our great country was based on one’s individual freedom and rights. People
must understand that everyone is different and when they categorize or stereotype someone this is what can happen.”
Kirkland says the town of Willacoochee “still looks and feels the same” and he rarely returns to his hometown,
sneaking in for the occasional family visit.
Both Kirkland and Sebastian now reside in Valdosta, and though they are no longer a couple, they remain “the best of
friends.”
Kirkland and Sebastian’s documentary, “A Cross Burning In Willacoochee,” can be purchased online at www.
acrossburning.com or at the Douglas Video Warehouse location.
Kirkland also stated that he is also hoping to present legislation requiring all cities and townships to refrain from
condoning any and all hate crimes in the “very near future.”
http://www.douglasenterprise.net/articles/2009/12/18/news/doc4b1fdd4718dfb639947864.txt
Crimes Included Death Threats & House and Cross Burnings
Luke Roberts
Enterprise Staff Writer December 2, 2009
More than sixteen years have past since a gay male couple living in Willacoochee were the victims of several acts of
what is considered to be hate crimes, and both men are still searching for answers as to exactly who was responsible.
The case attracted national attention in small town south Georgia in 1993, and now an award-winning documentary
recalls the “heinous” events that took place.
Just to summarize what occurred, in 1993, gay couple Roy Kirkland, a Willacoochee native, and his partner at the
time, Doug Sebastian, made the decision to move from Atlanta back to Roy’s childhood home in Willacoochee.
Everything seemed to be in the norm for the couple, but things quickly took a turn for the worse and the men suddenly
became targets of hate crime.
It all started in the early months of 1993 when Kirkland and Sebastian returned home from a night out and found their
mailbox destroyed in their front yard. Not thinking much of it, the couple continued on without any fear, believing the
incident to be just some kids being kids.
But shortly thereafter, on July 21, 1993 to be exact, Kirkland and Sebastian were awoken one morning by Kirkland’s
brother who delivered some scary and frightening news: someone had placed and burnt a cross in the gay couple’s
front yard.
The couple elected to contact the local Willacoochee Police Department and an officer responded to the residence
where the charred cross still stood in the couple’s yard.
Kirkland says the Willacoochee officer that responded to the scene and said he was going to file a misdemeanor
incident report, but nothing ever came of it. Kirkland says he was “surprised” that only a misdemeanor report was filed,
since cross burning was and still is a federal offense. Kirkland says to this day he doesn’t believe the incident was
properly investigated by the Willacoochee authorities or Georgia Bureau of Investigation authorities. He also said he
believes since the act was a federal offense, it should have been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“They didn’t take any forensic evidence or anything,” stated Kirkland. “In fact, one of the officers told us that the
burning cross was probably put in our yard by “the niggers down the road.”
The District Attorney’s Office was a help to Kirkland and Sebastian though and both men say that DA Investigator
Tony Giddens and his organization was the “only organization we trusted.”
After about one month with no incidents, Kirkland and Sebastian decided to go out of town for the weekend. When
they returned home in late August of ’93, they discovered their mailbox again destroyed. Not only was the mailbox
destroyed, but it seems whoever was responsible had left the couple several “vulgar and threatening” messages on the
men’s answering machine.
In these messages, both Kirkland and Sebastian’s lives were threatened and several homophobic remarks were
made. This terrified the two men.
A Willacoochee City Council member at the time also made what would now be considered “controversial” statements,
saying he wasn’t surprised by what happened to Kirkland and Sebastian since Willacoochee was largely “anti-gay.”
Just days later, Kirkland and another friend were at the home while Sebastian was at work when someone started
driving by the house and screaming threatening remarks.
Fearing for their safety, Kirkland and the other man went to a motel in Tifton where Sebastian worked, not knowing the
“evil” act that was going to take place later that night.
When they returned back home to Willacoochee the following day, Kirkland and Sebastian pulled into their yard only
to discover someone had set fire to their home.
This “devastated” the couple, and Kirkland commented, “To this day I don’t know and never will know what we did to
attract such a negative reaction. This was my hometown.”
No one was ever charged or arrested for these acts of hate crime, and Kirkland is still miffed about the investigation or
what he calls “a lack thereof.”
“Even though many years have passed, I still want answers. Who burnt the cross? Who burnt my home? Who left
the death threats on my answering machine? These are all questions that have never been answered. In a small town
like Willacoochee where everybody knows everybody, somebody knew something and still knows something. We had a
clearly recorded voice leaving these threatening messages and I still cannot believe that no one was identified.”
Kirkland later obtained a copy of the case file from the GBI and says he was “shocked” that there was no mention of
the death threats or the mailbox destruction in the report. “This only led me to further believe that we were never taken
seriously.”
The gay couple also had to battle with their insurance company to receive compensation for their charred home, and
it took then State of Georgia Insurance Commissioner Tim Ryles to get this complete.
Kirkland says he and Sebastian were inspired to film the documentary after Kirkland came across a box containing
newspaper clippings about the hate crimes. “I just happened to come across a box with all of this stuff in it and it
brought back a lot of bad memories about some terrible events. I still get sick to my stomach when thinking about just
what occurred, and it took a while to film this documentary because it was so hard to relive these events.”
The documentary was filmed and produced by Kirkland and Sebastian through Sebastian’s production company and
since its release has drawn “rave” reviews from those who have watched it.
The film was shown at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival and took home the award for
“Best Documentary” against an estimated 25 other documentaries.
It was also shown at the Atlanta Out On Film Festival and has since been shown at the Washington, Georgia Retro
Cinema.
Kirkland commented, “We have received both positive and negative feedback about our documentary, though I can
say the majority of the feedback has been positive. So many people have been supportive. This stuff is still going on
across our country, and though people have become more tolerant, there is and always will be some who remain bigots
full of hate. In May of this year a similar event happened in Oregon after a white woman adopted a black child. Like us,
the woman had a cross placed and burnt in her yard.”
Kirkland continued, “Even though 16 years have come and gone, we still want answers and yes, I’m still angry about
the entire situation. I’m also angry at myself for cowering at the time, but this documentary let’s our story be heard and
hopefully will bring light to the situation.
“I get sad about our country, because our great country was based on one’s individual freedom and rights. People
must understand that everyone is different and when they categorize or stereotype someone this is what can happen.”
Kirkland says the town of Willacoochee “still looks and feels the same” and he rarely returns to his hometown,
sneaking in for the occasional family visit.
Both Kirkland and Sebastian now reside in Valdosta, and though they are no longer a couple, they remain “the best of
friends.”
Kirkland and Sebastian’s documentary, “A Cross Burning In Willacoochee,” can be purchased online at www.
acrossburning.com or at the Douglas Video Warehouse location.
Kirkland also stated that he is also hoping to present legislation requiring all cities and townships to refrain from
condoning any and all hate crimes in the “very near future.”
http://www.douglasenterprise.net/articles/2009/12/18/news/doc4b1fdd4718dfb639947864.txt
