On July 6, 1999, Barry Winchell, a 21-year-old

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, was murdered while he slept outside of his barracks by fellow soldier Calvin Glover for dating a

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

woman,

Calpernia Addams Calpernia Sarah Addams (born February 20, 1971) is an American actress, musician, spokesperson and activist for transgender rights and issues. Early life Addams grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. She served as a Hospital Corpsman with the Navy. ...

, after a physical altercation between the two. The murder became a point of reference in the ongoing debate about the policy known as "

don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on Sexual orientation in the United States military, military service of homosexual people. Instituted during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration, the pol ...

", which did not allow members of the U.S. military who were homosexual, bisexual, or transgender to be open about their

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

Biography of Winchell

A native of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, Winchell enlisted in the Army in 1997 and was transferred in 1998 to

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

. As a Private First Class, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 502nd Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. While stationed there, he received a

Dear John letter A Dear John letter is a letter written to a man by his wife or romantic partner to inform him that their relationship is over, usually because his partner has found another lover. The man is often a member of the military stationed overseas, al ...

from his high school sweetheart. Winchell later accompanied his roommate, Spc. Justin Robert Fisher, 25, and other soldiers for an excursion to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

's downtown bars. In 1999, Fisher and others took Winchell to a Nashville club, The Connection, which featured

performers, where Winchell met a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...

named

.''New York Times''
David France, "An Inconvenient Woman," May 28, 2000
accessed March 12, 2012 The two began to date. Fisher began to spread rumors of the relationship at Ft. Campbell. Winchell then became a target of harassment, which his superiors did almost nothing to stop.''New York Times''

accessed March 12, 2012

Perpetrators

Calvin Neal Glover was born in

Sulphur, Oklahoma Sulphur is a city in and county seat of Murray County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,065 at the 2020 census, a 2.8 percent gain over the figure of 4,929 in 2010. The area around Sulphur has been noted for its mineral springs, s ...

. Justin Fisher was born in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. Glover's parents separated when he was young, and he had a difficult upbringing. He often stayed at a youth home when his family was having issues. A psychologist later said Glover had low self-esteem and was more susceptible to alcohol abuse as a result. She also said he was easily influenced by others since he wanted attention. When Glover was 13, he moved in with his father. "I saw an immediate change," his mother said. "He was out of control. He was drinking, and he was only 13. He wouldn't stay in school, and he was flunking. He was easily influenced by older people around him. He always ran with older groups." After Glover dropped out of school in 8th grade, his parents enrolled him in a youth counseling program. When he was 17, Glover joined the

with his mother's permission.

Murder

The harassment of Winchell was continuous until the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

weekend, when Winchell and fellow soldier Calvin Neal Glover, 18, fought after Winchell accused a boasting Glover of being a fraud. Both had been drinking beer throughout the day. Glover was soundly defeated by Winchell, and Fisher harassed Glover about being beaten by a fucking faggot' like Winchell". Fisher and Winchell had their own history of physical altercations as roommates in the barracks of Ft. Campbell. Fisher continued to goad Glover. Subsequently, in the early hours of July 5, 1999, Glover took a baseball bat from Fisher's locker and struck Winchell in the head with it as he slept on a cot outside near the entrance to the room Winchell shared with Fisher.Thomas Hackett. . ''Rolling Stone'', March 2, 2000. At

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

. Winchell died of massive head injuries on July 6 at the

Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains a ...

. Glover pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder for killing Winchell. During his plea hearing, he said Fisher had goaded him into attacking Winchell and that he didn't mean to kill him. Tearing up, Glover said "I was just so drunk ... and I had no intent for him to die. It was just a mistake, sir. ... I wasn't mad at him for any reason. I had nothing against him." However, prosecutors decided to still take Glover to trial for premeditated murder. During the trial, his defense claimed Fisher had goaded him into committing the murder and that it wasn't intentional. "Fisher thought Glover would be an excellent candidate to get Pfc. Winchell", said defense attorney Captain Thomas Moshang. "He knew that Private Glover could be instigated. He was able to work him up, provoke him to the point that Glover said, 'Yeah, I'm going to hit him with this bat. The prosecution said Glover was still responsible for his own actions and that the murder was clearly intentional. Prosecutor Captain Gregg Engler said "It's premeditated – murder without a doubt. Glover is not a robot. Glover took the bat and went out there and killed Winchell. He intended to kill because of the massive, massive blows. The first blow. If not the first blow, the second. He could have walked away, but he didn't. He had a choice, and he chose to kill." He faced a mandatory life sentence, with or without the possibility of parole. Arguing for a chance of parole, Glover's defense team pointed to his difficult upbringing, young age, and claimed that Fisher had used him as a pawn. After deliberating, military jurors decided to give Glover a chance at parole. A psychologist testified that he had gotten along with black youths and gay youths at his youth home, in contrast to previous claims that he was a racist homophobe. Shortly before he was sentenced, Glover apologized to Winchell's family. His voice cracking, he said "If I had acted as half the man, even half the soldier as Barry was, he’d be with us right now. I have to apologize to Barry's parents. I'm deeply sorry for the pain I've brought your family. This is something that I'll have to remember for the rest of my life." Glover said he was drunk at the time of the murder and was recovering from alcoholism, and that he didn't know why he attacked Winchell. He said he had found God in prison. Glover's attorneys continued to argue that Fisher had goaded him into attacking Winchell. Winchell's parents testified during the hearing, describing him as a loving, compassionate man who enjoyed the Army and wanted to become a helicopter pilot. Fisher pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice, one count of providing alcohol to a minor, and three counts of false swearing and was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, charges of participating as a principal to premeditated murder and being an accessory after the fact to premeditated murder were dropped. Although Winchell's family was satisfied with Glover's sentence, they were outraged by Fisher's sentence. Winchell's parents, Wally and Patricia Kutteles said "Suddenly, the Army let him plead to nothing related to the actual murder ... justice was not served today." C. Dixon Osburn, then the co-executive director of the

OutServe-SLDN OutServe-SLDN was a network of LGBTQ military personnel, formed as a result of the merger between OutServe and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. OutServe-SLDN was one of the largest LGBT employee resource groups in the world. OutServe was ...

, decried the sentence as a "travesty". "We're left with huge questions about why Fort Campbell cut this deal", he said. In addition to their sentences, Glover and Fisher were also both dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank to private, and ordered to forfeit all of their pay and benefits. They were incarcerated at the

United States Disciplinary Barracks The United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB), colloquially known as Leavenworth, is a military correctional facility located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army post in Kansas. It is one of two major prisons built on Fort Leavenwort ...

."Soldier Pleads Guilty In Gay Slaying Case"
''The New York Times'', January 9, 2000, accessed March 12, 2012 Fisher was denied

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

in 2003, released to a

halfway house A halfway house is a type of prison or institute intended to teach (or reteach) the necessary skills for people to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. Halfway houses are typically either state sponsored for those ...

in August 2006, and released from custody in October 2006. Glover was later transferred to a civilian prison and paroled on August 27, 2020.

Aftermath

Winchell's murder led Secretary of Defense

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (1979� ...

to order a review of the "

" (DADT) policy, which some asserted was a significant factor in Winchell's harassment and murder.Black, Chris (December 13, 1999)
"Pentagon to review 'don't ask, don't tell' policy"
. ''CNN''.Elizabeth Becker (February 2, 2000)

''The New York Times''. Accessed March 12, 2012Robert Pear (December 12, 1999)

''The New York Times''. Accessed March 12, 2012. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network was a prominent critic of how the policy was implemented, and they demanded to know who, in higher ranks, was responsible for the climate on base.Philip Shenon (August 14, 1999)
"Revised Military Guidelines Fail to Quell Gay Concerns"
''The New York Times''. Accessed March 12, 2012 Winchell's parents, Wally and Patricia Kutteles continued to press for a re-examination of "don't ask, don't tell". Lieutenant General

Timothy Maude Timothy Joseph Maude (November 18, 1947 – September 11, 2001) was a United States Army lieutenant general who was killed in the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon. Maude was the highest ranking U.S. military officer killed in the September 11 ...

, a point man on

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

issues for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, visited with Patricia Kutteles. Despite campaigning by the Kutteleses and LGBT activist groups, the Commanding General of

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

at the time of the murder, Major General Robert T. Clark, refused to take responsibility for the purported anti-gay climate at

under his command.John Files (October 24, 2003)
"Committee Approves Promoting General In Gay-Bashing Case"
''The New York Times''. Accessed March 12, 2012. In May 2003, he met with Patricia Kutteles, who opposed his promotion, saying: "He doesn't have the command authority or responsibility. The promotion would be another obstacle in the way of everything we have tried to do to honor our son." His promotion to lieutenant general was delayed in October 2002 and May 2003.
''The New York Times'' (May 18, 2003). Accessed March 12, 2012. After being exonerated, he was nominated and approved for promotion to lieutenant general on December 5, 2003. The 2003 film ''

Soldier's Girl ''Soldier's Girl'' is a 2003 biographical drama television film written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Frank Pierson. It is based on a story of the relationship between Barry Winchell and Calpernia Addams and the events that led up to Barry's ...

'' is based on Winchell's murder and the events leading up to it.

Troy Garity Troy Garity (born July 7, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Isaac in the ''Barbershop'' film series and as Barry Winchell in the television movie '' Soldier's Girl'' (2003), where he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award fo ...

portrays Winchell with

Lee Pace Lee Grinner Pace (born March 25, 1979) is an American actor. He starred as Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit (film series), ''The Hobbit'' trilogy and as Joe MacMillan in the period drama television series ''Halt and Catch Fire (TV series), ...

playing

. The film received a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

and numerous

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nominations and sparked the renewed debate of the effects of DADT during Clark's promotion hearings.John Files (November 19, 2003)
"Washington: General's Delayed Promotion"
''The New York Times''. Accessed March 12, 2012.

References

External links