PORTLAND (AP) – A group seeking a retrial for convicted murderer Dennis Dechaine has ignited a controversy by requesting to place a parade float and a booth in next month’s Bath Heritage Days Festival.
The request by Trial and Error has sparked debate about the propriety of allowing a group whose aim is to free a man convicted of child murder to participate in a family-oriented festival.
“To bring this into a parade where there are kids and a family type situation is inappropriate. It bothers me terribly,” said Gayle Warren, who plans to bring her grandchildren, ages 7 and 4 to the parade. “They can have their booth, but a float . . . is too visible.”
Dechaine is serving a life sentence for the 1988 slaying of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry of Bowdoin. Trial and Error believes Dechaine is innocent and has been working for years to try to free him.
The board of Maine Street Bath, which runs the July 1-4 festival, plans to consider Trial and Error’s application for a booth today. A decision on the float will be made after Monday’s deadline for applications to participate in the parade.
Two years ago, the Yarmouth Clam Festival refused to allow supporters of an Indian-run casino to take part in its parade, saying the festival is a lighthearted event designed for family fun and as a fund-raising vehicle for nonprofit organizations.
Bath Heritage Days, now in its 33rd year, draws thousands of visitors to the shipbuilding city. The parade, scheduled for July 4, is one of the state’s largest.
Morrison Bonpasse, a spokesman for Trial and Error, said his group wants to hand out brochures and sell bumper stickers and copies of “Human Sacrifice,” a book which is favorable to Dechaine.
While the group’s parade plans are less certain, they could include people marching with banners or signs on a float directing people to the Trial and Error Web site. Bonpasse said his group has as much right to be in the parade as, for example, a group opposing the war in Iraq.
Pastor Robert Dorr, a friend of Sarah Cherry’s family since 1988, said using a parade to promote a cause is inappropriate.
“It just goes to show one more time how insensitive and abusive they can be,” Dorr said.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
AP-ES-06-14-05 0836EDT
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