Fools Of The Week: Herman Thomas and Robert Reaves

I’m a big believer that the closet is a dangerous place to be. Not only does it force people to live dishonest lives, the tension between refusing to acknowledge your true desires and the need to satisfy sexual urges often leads to unsafe practices.

In two recent cases, people crossed the line into illegal activity. While it’s sad these men felt they couldn’t be openly gay, it’s not enough to save them from being the Fools Of The Week.

Former Alabama Circuit Court judge Herman Thomas, known for being tough on crime, is facing 83 counts of sodomy, extortion, sex abuse, and kidnapping. Fifteen male inmates are accusing Thomas of exchanging leniency for sexual acts that ranged from spanking to anal sex. The charges date as far back as 1999. This case should inspire confidence in the judicial system!

Despite evidence that includes jail records that match the times inmates say they were visiting Thomas, semen found on his carpet, and detailed descriptions of his office, his defense is claiming the inmates are lying.

What’s worse, the local NAACP is claiming this is a racially motivated case, even though all the inmates are black.
Their support illustrates the lengths some people will go to in order to defend a “good black man,” as Thomas was once considered a rising political force in Alabama.

By the way, Thomas is married with children.

Elsewhere in the South, Robert Lee Adams Reaves is charged with first-degree murder in the January 2008 stabbing death of Latrese Matral Curtis. Reaves is a pastor who allegedly killed Curtis because he thought she was preventing him from having a sexual relationship with his roommate, Steven Randolph.

In testimony, Randolph described how Reaves tried to interest him in working for an escort service. When he refused and told Reaves he was straight, Reaves offered to allow him to live rent-free in exchange for oral sex. After being turned down yet again, Randolph and Curtis received threatening phone calls and had their tires slashed, although they could not tie Reaves to the events. However, his DNA was found on Curtis’s steering wheel.

This is not the first time Reaves has been in trouble with the law. He was charged with assault in 1982 and convicted of criminal sexual conduct in 1988. Despite this background, he was able to maintain his position at the Cedar International Fellowship church, where I’m sure he made his share of homophobic sermons.

I suspect Thomas and Reaves believed they could get away with their actions because of their positions in the black community. Let’s hope they are convicted and are finally able to accept themselves.