Robert "Boo" Many Horses News articles
Settlement reached in case of man found in garbage can
posted to NDN AIM by Dodie
Staff & Wire
published: 4/11/2003
Family of Robert 'Boo' Many Horses 'pleased'
ABERDEEN - An out-of-court settlement has been reached in a civil
lawsuit over the death of Robert "Boo" Many Horses, 21, an American
Indian found dead in a garbage can in Mobridge in June 1999.
Many Horses' foster mother, Lila Martel of Mobridge, was named court-
appointed representative of his estate and filed the suit against
three people: Layne Gisi and Jody Larson of Mobridge, and Joy Hahne
of Trail City. Gisi and Larson were 19 years old when Many Horses
died. Hahne was 17.
In 1999, a circuit court judge dismissed criminal charges against
Gisi, Larson and Hahne in connection with Many Horses' death, citing
insufficient evidence. An autopsy concluded Many Horses died of
alcohol poisoning.
Martel's attorney, Charles Abourezk of Rapid City, said the family
had planned to ask for $1 million when the case went to trial in May.
Abourezk said all parties had agreed to keep terms of the settlement
confidential. He said the settlement states that the three defendants
must meet "face to face" with Martel.
"My client was pleased with the outcome of the case," Abourezk said.
Martel "feels that the value of Robert's life was recognized by the
terms of the settlement, which was the most important thing to her in
the case," the attorney said.
Many Horses had been stuffed head-first in a garbage can after a
night of drinking with four white teens in a gravel pit east of
Mobridge. The youth accused of placing Many Horses into the can later
told investigators he did it as a prank.
Born with fetal alcohol syndrome, Many Horses was mentally disabled
and less than 5 feet tall. The alcohol in his system combined with
his small size made it nearly impossible for Many Horses to extricate
himself from the can, according to court testimony.
His breathing suppressed by the alcohol and tight confines, the young
man died.
Martel, his foster mother, has said that the officer who found Many
Horses dumped him out of the can onto the ground.
Martel could not be reached for comment Monday, but in a 2002
interview, she said she was still angered by the death. "I miss that
boy every day. Sometimes I miss that kid so bad, it's unreal. It
hurts," she said.
The case touched off accusations of racial inequity in the state's
justice system after the charges were dropped.
Protesters staged several "Walks for Boo's Spirit," and tribal
members planned a boycott of Mobridge businesses.
Activists poured in from other reservations and other states. Clyde
Bellecourt and Dennis Banks, both veterans of the Wounded Knee
Occupation and senior leaders in the American Indian Movement, spoke
and marched at the rallies.
The story was featured on ABC's "20/20" news magazine.
The Many Horses case was among several investigations discussed
before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 1999.
The group scheduled a hearing in Rapid City to investigate whether
South Dakota has a dual standard of justice for Native Americans and
whites.
Eventually, a U.S. Justice Department staff member came to Mobridge
to help the community ease racial tensions. Ministers and others in
the community formed the Mobridge Area Race Relations Council, a
group that works to promote understanding through such activities as
its annual EthnicFest.
Many Horses trial moved
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Feb.25.2003
Posted to NDN AIM by Erthavengr
ABERDEEN (AP) - Three people are scheduled to stand trial in civil court this
spring in the 1999 death of an American
Indian man whose body was found upside down in a garbage can.
Layne Gisi and Jody Larson, both of Mobridge, and Joy Hahne, of Trail City,
are accused in the death of Robert "Boo" Many Horses, 22, of Mobridge.
The trial is set for May 5 in Aberdeen. Circuit Judge Eugene Dobberpuhl
agreed to move the proceedings from Walworth County because of pretrial
publicity.
Citing insufficient evidence, a circuit court judge dismissed criminal
charges in 1999 against the three. An autopsy concluded Many Horses died of
alcohol poisoning.
Gisi had been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault. Larson, Hahne
and Ryan Goehring, of Mobridge, were charged with assisting with a crime,
being accessory to a crime and failure to report a felony. Gisi and Larson
were 19 at the time, Hahne was 17 and Goehring was 16.
Many Horses' family had filed a civil suit against all four people, but
Goehring's name was later dropped.
Many Horses' death touched off accusations of racial inequity in the state's
justice system.
http://www.argusleader.com/racialdivide/Mondayfeature.shtml
A death in Mobridge teaches hard lessons about racism
By LEE WILLIAMS
Argus Leader
published: 1/28/02
Race relations panel works for tolerance
MOBRIDGE - Lew Wallace and his wife straddle a racial divide that runs right
through the middle of their main street store.
Wallace is white. His wife is Lakota. He sells clocks and repairs watches on
his side of their store, Wallace Jewelry. She sells colorful tubes of beads and
beadwork on the other side.
His customers are mostly white. Most of her shoppers are Native American.
"After 48 years of marriage, we're race relations experts. We do it every day,"
says Lew Wallace, who grew up on the Standing Rock reservation. "The biggest
problem this town and this state have is that the two races just don't trust
each other. Both sides need to sit down, together, talk a bit and work out
solutions."
Experts agree with that assessment. And in the more than two years since the
death of Robert "Boo" Many Horses, talking and working out solutions have
slowly become familiar exercises in this Missouri River community.
The discovery of the disabled Indian man's body in a trash can in July 1999
ignited racial attitudes in Mobridge, a community of 3,574 less than 30 miles
from the North Dakota border. The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River reservations
are across the river from Mobridge, and tribal members were incensed at Many
Horses' death and the resulting investigation.
But members of the clergy and others pushed tribal and community residents to
meet and talk. As a result, a race relations council was founded.
Organizers are quick to say the steps they've taken have not eliminated racism
in the Mobridge area. But they have inched residents closer together and united
them in problem-solving efforts.
"There's a better understanding now. Racism has moved away from the outright
'Archie Bunker' type," says the Rev. Bryce Fellbaum of Trinity Lutheran Church,
president of the Mobridge Area Race Relations Council. "Now, at least most
people want to act like they're not racist."
Community leaders think the hard lessons Mobridge residents learned about race
relations may be beneficial to other communities in the state working to foster
an understanding between the races.
They see similarities between what their community experienced and what Miller
and Crow Creek reservation residents are working through today. Two white
teen-agers in the central South Dakota town of Miller face charges in
connection with a shotgun blast directed at a group of Crow Creek young people
after a basketball game last fall.
Some Crow Creek tribal leaders are angry about the delay in arrests and
prosecution in that case. They think the Miller teenagers should face
prosecution for more serious crimes, a sentiment also expressed in Mobridge
after the death of Many Horses. And there's the perception of a double standard
of justice, laws applied differently to Indians and whites.
"We're always looking for ways to change that perception, but part of that is
life," says Dan Todd, Walworth County State's Attorney."I would expect that it
will always be an issue."
'Boo' Many Horses
On July 1, 1999, after he'd spent the night drinking with four white teens in a
gravel pit east of Mobridge, 21-year-old Many Horses' body was found stuffed
head-first in a garbage can. The wooden rack that held the can still sits
behind an old trailer home in a dirty alley covered with gang graffiti and
garbage.
Faded red ribbons from tobacco ties, left as a Native American offering for the
deceased man's spirit, still adorn the rack.
The youth accused of placing Many Horses into the can later told investigators
he did it as a prank.
Many Horses was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and was mentally disabled. The
young man was short in stature, under 5 feet. The alcohol in his system
combined with his small size made it nearly impossible for Many Horses to
extricate himself from the can, according to court testimony.
The tight confines of the can and the alcohol suppressed his breathing and
caused his death. His body was discovered the next morning by a passerby, who
called police.
"Boo was one of my students," says Irene Pawelski, 58. "He was a very fine
young man. I sat down with him and had a pop shortly before he died. He always
took time to stop and talk to the elders."
A Mobridge officer dumped Many Horses out of the can onto the ground, his
foster mother of 21 years says. Since 1966, Lila Martel has been a foster
parent to more than 50 children, many of them American Indian. "I'm still so
angry," Martel says. "I miss that boy every day. Sometimes I miss that kid so
bad, it's unreal. It hurts."
Todd filed murder charges against four white Mobridge teens. The charges later
were reduced, then dropped, and a storm of controversy followed.
Protesters staged several "Walks for Boo's Spirit," and tribal members planned
a boycott of Mobridge businesses.
Activists poured in from other reservations and other states. Clyde Bellecourt
and Dennis Banks, both veterans of the Wounded Knee Occupation and senior
leaders in the American Indian Movement, spoke and marched at the rallies.
The troubles at Mobridge were featured in news stories in most of the state's
newspapers and on its television stations and in a segment on ABC's "20/20"
newsmagazine.
Some say Mobridge got a black eye in the aftermath of the Many Horses case.
"I don't know if all the media reports were accurate," Todd says. As the
state's attorney who dropped the murder charges, Todd was featured prominently
in many of the news accounts.
"There were a few things written in the paper and on TV that really slammed
Mobridge," Martel says. "Now, I think there's a better understanding between
the races ... because of what happened to Robert."
Todd defends his office's handling of the Many Horses case.
"As far as our response, I have the utmost confidence that we react to a
situation totally irrespective to the person's race," Todd says. "I recognize
that's not the perception."
The Many Horses case was among several investigations discussed before the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights in 1999. The group scheduled a hearing in Rapid City
to investigate whether a dual standard of justice for Indian and whites exists
in South Dakota.
Working out tensions
In the more than 30 months since Many Horses' death, the communities on both
sides of the Missouri River have worked to ease anger and mistrust.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a staff member to Mobridge to try to work
out racial tensions. Working with members of the clergy, the mediator succeeded
in getting both sides talking, and the Mobridge Area Race Relations Council was
born.
The group took more than a year to agree on a mission. The focus, according to
a written statement, is to "seek to promote and assist in developing a neutral
environment of fairness and respect among the citizens of Mobridge and the
surrounding area."
Members think they may be the only such racial relations group in the state.
"This group grew out of a grass-roots movement," says Fellbaum, the race
relations council president. "Ten or more years ago, there was a move to have a
reconciliation group that fell flat. Maybe this incident is part of getting the
community together."
Even today, the group is not popular, says Francis Bosch, 48, a council member
and former president.
"Racism is not a popular issue. When we formed, two years ago, we were just
seven different people, with seven different agendas," Bosch says.
"Some wanted to conduct investigations. Others wanted to be a watchdog of law
enforcement."
At the council's January meeting, four tribal members sat on one side of the
room, while white council members sat on the other side.
"We didn't plan it this way, obviously," Fellbaum says. "It just kinda
happened."
The council's activities have slowly evolved over time. They investigate
complaints of bias or discrimination but don't sanction anyone. The goal is to
start a dialogue between the parties involved in a dispute.
"When we first started, we tried to investigate every complaint," Fellbaum
says. "Half were invalid, and we felt we were being used. Now our focus has
shifted. We try to raise everyone's cultural understanding. That's become the
biggest part of what we do."
The council also serves as a liaison, working with the tribe, local government
agencies, law enforcement, school and church officials and the media.
They sponsor public forums and training on race relations, cultural awareness
and civil rights.
And they've learned the hard way, after several sparsely attended training
events, that to attract the public, their activities have to be fun.
The success of last year's first annual Ethnic Fest proved that. Performances
ranged from an Indian hoop dance to bluegrass music.
"The fairs and fests really work, and they're nonthreatening and fun," Bosch
says. "We saw a lot of Indians eating kuchen and a lot of whites eating fry
bread."
The results
The publicity surrounding Many Horses' death, coupled with efforts by the race
relations council, have driven overt racism underground, Fellbaum and others on
the council say.
"I think people are more sensitized to the problem now," Bosch says. "Those
with that particular (racist) mindset were driven into the closet."
Todd agrees. "Better? I'd say yes," he says. "Oftentimes, a community can grow
from any situation, not limited to Many Horses' death. Sometimes these
incidents bring to light needs, and the needs get addressed. There has been
some progress."
But Agatha Holy Bull, a Standing Rock tribal elder, says some Native Americans
are still angry about the Many Horses case and stay away from Mobridge. "There
is a lot of anger on both sides," she says.
Lately, the race relations council has shifted its focus to the youth.
"Now, if you ask the wrong person, you'll be told that there's not a racist
alive in this town," Bosch says. "We're not so concerned about the mindset of
these people, the older ones. We're looking at the youth. We want more youth
activities."
On the reservation, parents also are keeping better track of their children,
says Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Secretary Pearl Three Legs.
"I know women that age. The moms are networking, telling each other the last
time they saw each other's kids," Three Legs says. "Many have a 10 p.m. curfew,
and if they're late, they call the moms, and they know who they're with and in
whose car. I'm sorry it had to take a death to get this going."
Judy Fiddler, owner of The Hair Shoppe in Mobridge, also has noticed things are
different.
"In my business, we don't see skin color, just hair and nails," she says. "The
talk from some Native Americans is that they felt insignificant. They felt
looked down upon. I don't know how or why things changed for the better, but
I'm glad it did."
The race relations council knows its work is far from done.
"We're still working on ways to get people together," says council member Irene
Pawelski. "We want people to live in harmony. There is really only one race -
the human race."
Council member Thomas Trenton believes that other communities in South Dakota,
especially those located close to tribal lands, should look at creating
councils similar to the one in Mobridge.
"I think the town of Miller should form its own council. It's only good
business. It's a good idea," Trenton says. "They can start like we did, by
using churches as its base. It can only help the community to heal, as Mobridge
is healing.
"What we had at the time of Boo's death was a sickness. We had a lot of
darkness over our community then. You could feel it in the air. It didn't
dissipate until the pipe ceremony, after one of the walks for Boo. We felt
better. Mobridge did, too. It brought unity and forgiveness from the Lakota
people."
Barnett wants study of racism in S.D. justice
By LEE WILLIAMS
Argus Leader
published: 10/22/00
Attorney General Mark Barnett says his office is trying to gain federal money
for a comprehensive study of South Dakota's justice system.
"I haven't said anything publicly until now," Barnett said last week. "We need
to do a thorough study to determine whether racial bias exists in the system. I
fully support that concept."
Barnett made his comment in response to a recommendation that he convene a
grand jury to investigate the death of Robert "Boo" Many Horses, the Mobridge
man who was found dead in a garbage can June 30, 1999.
He didn't agree to the grand jury request but said that, rather than a focus on
the Many Horses case, a review of the entire system is needed.
"While it's a tragic case, we need to look at the bigger picture to determine
whether racism exists in the system. That's the only way we're going to cure
racism."
The request for a grand jury came Thursday in an updated report from U.S. Civil
Rights Commissioner Elsie Meeks and Frank Pommersheim, a member of the
commission's state advisory committee and a professor at the University of
South Dakota School of Law.
An autopsy showed that Many Horses, an American Indian, died of alcohol
toxicity. Four white teen-agers charged with manslaughter and other crimes were
released when all charges were dismissed by a judge who said the state hadn't
proved its case.
"Professor Pommersheim and I, as well as most people in South Dakota, feel
there was no resolution to this and other issues," Meeks said.
On Thursday, she and Pommersheim issued a review and update of the commission's
report issued last March titled, "Native Americans in South Dakota: An Erosion
of Confidence in the Justice System."
The state committee and members of the federal commission held a one-day
hearing in Rapid City in December, during which American Indians from across
the state described their experiences with the judicial system.
At first, Gov. Bill Janklow called the commission's report in March "garbage"
and "fiction," though he later read the report and met with its authors.
Last week, neither Janklow nor his press secretary, Bob Mercer, responded to
calls from the Argus Leader for comment on the updated report.
Barnett didn't agree with the report's specific recommendation.
"I don't think you'd get a judge to grant you authority to conduct a grand
jury," he said. "The case has already been thrown out by a judge, and rejected
by federal prosecutors as well. I'm not sure why Elsie is saying that. Maybe
she just wants to stir it up, or for political reasons."
But Meeks said the public and those involved in the case need the grand jury:
"It would be one more step. People could feel closure, and it would get it out
of the hands of the state's attorney."
The Civil Rights Commission update also makes two other recommendations.
It says the Legislature should enact a law to monitor potential racial
profiling in the state, similar to laws on the books in six other states that
were designed to gauge whether police officers stop people based solely on
race.
Rep. Ron Volesky, D-Huron, has said he would introduce such legislation next
year.
"The legislation is important, as a first step to bringing reconciliation to a
reality in South Dakota," Volesky said. "It would send the signal that as a
state government, we want to do something to improve relations between Indians
and non-Indians in this state."
The attorney general said he won't support this or any other legislation, until
he sees a draft of what's proposed.
The update also calls for an open forum among Janklow, tribal, state, federal
and local representatives, advocacy groups and private citizens to discuss race
and government issues.
"We've called for this since the report was issued," said Marc Feinstein,
chairman of the state advisory committee. "We need a dialogue as long as one
person perceives there's injustice out there."
Prosecutor reviewing Mobridge alcohol poisoning
By LEE WILLIAMS
Argus Leader
published: 9/26/00
"The prosecutor in the death of Robert "Boo" Many Horses last
year in Mobridge is reviewing information supplied by a national television
news
program that suggests the crime should have been pursued as a murder.
The ABC program "20/20" aired a report Friday that contradicts the autopsy
conducted by Rapid City medical examiner Dr. Don Habbe, which ruled the
cause of death was alcohol poisoning.
Walworth County State's Attorney Dan Todd said Monday he is studying the
documents from the broadcast but pointed out that four of the six experts
contacted by the show did not draw the same conclusion.
And the judge in the case said it's difficult to discount the opinion of
the doctor who actually examined the body.
Many Horses, 22, was found dead June 30, 1999, in an alley, upside-down in
a garbage can. The case was among a series of deaths of American Indians
that touched off a statewide discussion of race relations, including a visit
by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Dr. Robert Kirschner, the former chief deputy medical examiner for Cook
County, Illinois, reviewed the case for the news program and believes the
young man was murdered.
"My findings were definitely homicide. This should have been called a
homicide," Kirschner said in phone interview Monday. He has conducted more
than 8,000 post-mortem examinations.
Habbe did not return a call from the Argus Leader for comment.
Many Horses' was drinking with a group of four white teens the night of
his death. The teens said they put the young man, born with fetal alcohol
syndrome, in the garbage can as a joke.
Charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault were filed against the four
but were later dismissed. Magistrate Judge Tony Portra ruled that state had
not met its burden of proof against the youths on the charges filed.
During Friday's segment of the "20/20," reporter Lynn Scherr questioned
Todd for his handling of the case.
Scherr said that Kirschner and Dr. Michael M. Baden, experts she
consulted, found the death could have been caused by positional asphyxia,
suffocation caused by being placed in the garbage can, inferring homicide or
manslaughter charges were therefore applicable.
"If we could find these guys within a couple of weeks, why couldn't you
find anybody when you were doing this?" Scherr asked Todd during the taped
segment.
Todd promised to review the reports of the two experts, and then decide if
new charges would be filed.
For those on both sides of the issue, the television program has raised
new questions about the handling of the case, and reopened many old wounds.
"I was shocked. The first time I'd heard about what the experts said, was
when I saw the segment on TV," said Lila Martel of Mobridge, Many Horses'
foster mother. "I think charges should be refiled. Call it a mother's
intuition, but I've always felt there was something more to this than Robert
dying of alcohol poisoning."
Martel blames Todd, adding the four white teens were all from prominent
local families.
"I don't think he did his job, not as he should have," Martel said.
Todd couldn't say whether the new information would prompt reopening the
case, or what could trigger such an action.
"20/20 just assumes that since they've got two reports saying it's
homicide, there you go," he said. "I can't practice law like that. I can't
hide from defendants other exculpatory reports, like those saying the cause
of death was alcohol poisoning."
Todd was quick to point out that, though the news magazine had two experts
saying the cause of death was probable homicide, four of the six experts
"20/20" contacted weren't so sure. "You can't shop for experts until you get
the answer you want. Sometimes I look for a second opinion, as in this case,
where we visited with a pathologist from a neighboring state."
Todd said "expert shopping" was unethical, and could lead to disbarment.
Judge Portra agrees.
"According to ABC news, even if 10 people say one thing, we should look
for the 11th, until people say what we want them to say," Portra explained.
The Many Horses case is the most difficult case the young judge, whose
father is an enrolled tribal member, has ever handled.
"I've spent many sleepless nights," Portra said. "I had to make the right
decision, regardless of public opinion. I knew right away that ABC news
wasn't coming here to say what a great job I did. I had to grapple with how
I was to be portrayed to the entire country."
Portra doesn't discount the findings of the news program's experts, which
he hasn't seen. But he has concerns.
"They never saw the body. The person who did see the body (Habbe) said the
cause of death was alcohol toxicity. In court, that would be pretty hard to
get around," the judge said.
"I don't know what ABC's experts based their opinions on."
Kirschner, the former Cook County medical examiner, said he examined
Habbe's autopsy report, and a transcript of the testimony offered during the
preliminary hearing. He prepared a written report of his findings for
"20/20," for which he was not compensated.
Kirschner said two things would have saved Many Horses' life.
"If he was taken to an (emergency room) he would have survived, or if he
had just been laid stretched-out some place, he would have survived,"
Kirschner explained. "He could have slept off his intoxication."
Kirschner said what caused the death was the impairment of Many Horses'
respiration from the alcohol, coupled with impaired ability to breath
properly from the pressure on his chest, from being in the garbage can.
"Clearly placing him in the can contributed to his death," Kirschner
explained. "Had he not have been in the can, he should have survived."
Kirschner based his conclusions on 20 years of experience as a forensic
pathologist. Though now retired, he serves on the faculty at the University
of Chicago, where he teaches pathology and pediatrics.
Kirschner has also consulted for international War Crimes Tribunals,
investigating mass killings in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
"In Chicago, I'm fairly sure it would have been called a homicide,"
Kirschner said. "Whether or not charges are filed, I clearly think it's a
homicide."
Kirschner's revelations are nothing new for Faith Taken Alive, one of four
Indian activists who organized the Justice for Boo Committee.
From early on, Taken Alive has called for a review of the investigative
procedures. She blames officials in Mobridge, and the FBI who were called in
by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, to investigate whether
the death was a hate crime. The federal investigation also yielded no
results.
"Now, when forensic experts say there's foul play and the FBI has said
there's nothing wrong, there is clearly something wrong."
Taken Alive said Many Horses' race contributed to his death and the lack
of vigorous prosecution.
"If Boo doesn't get his justice, we can just look down the road another
three to four years for another unsolved Indian death," she said. "It's got
to stop someplace. Let it be here."
Copyright © 2000 Argus Leader.
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