ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701060081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
Falwell says he'll pass on Flynt movie
LYNCHBURG - The Rev. Jerry Falwell has been boycotting the movies since he became a Christian 45 years ago, and he intends to stay away from one that deals with a battle he fought to the Supreme Court.
``The People vs. Larry Flynt,'' produced by Oliver Stone and Milos Forman, opens in Lynchburg theaters Thursday. It chronicles a First Amendment court fight that started when Flynt's Hustler magazine published a parody of Falwell in 1983, and the Liberty University founder sued for libel.
A Roanoke jury awarded Falwell $200,000 in damages, but the Supreme Court overturned the ruling in 1988, saying public figures like Falwell are not immune from ridicule because of the First Amendment.
Falwell said he's been interviewed frequently about the movie, and he objects to the picture it paints of Flynt as a First Amendment hero.
``I don't think that pornography should find any refuge in the First Amendment,'' he said. ``I don't think the framers of the First Amendment ever dreamed pornographers would be hiding behind free speech and free press.''
Still, he said he holds no malicious feelings toward Flynt.
``I consider him mentally deranged. I pray for him on a regular basis and have for years. I don't believe he is beyond the grace of God,'' he said.
- Associated Press
Engines recovered from plane crash
CHESAPEAKE - Investigators on Saturday retrieved the engines from a twin-engine plane that crashed in a swampy, wooded area and burst into flames Thursday, killing all four passengers on board.
A large chunk of the Piper Aerostar's fuselage and several smaller bits of debris were recovered. Investigators were hoping the pieces would help them determine what caused the crash.
``The examination of the engines is pretty much going to tell us if they were operating at full power,'' said Butch Wilson, a Washington-based air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane had climbed about 150 feet in dense fog when it started to descend. The angle of that descent could suggest that the aircraft's engines were not providing enough power to stay aloft, investigators said.
Meanwhile, the victims' bodies, removed Friday, are at the State Medical Examiner's office in Norfolk. They will undergo examination to determine cause of death. Dental records will be used to positively identify them.
The plane, traveling from Farmingdale, N.Y., to Atlanta, had stopped at Chesapeake Municipal Airport to refuel.
- Associated Press
Car dealer under fire sells dealership
PORTSMOUTH - A Nissan car dealership owner under fire for using a racial slur to describe an employee has sold his business in Portsmouth.
Nissan Motor Corp. was taking steps to strip Robert Crumpler of his franchise. That action had applied to both his Portsmouth and Newport News car lots.
But because the Portsmouth dealership is under new ownership, Nissan will no longer try to sever ties with it, said Nissan spokesman Ed Lewis.
The dealership is now called Bill Lewis First Team Nissan, and is owned by Ashton Lewis.
Nissan moved to yank Crumpler's franchise after he was secretly videotaped using a racial slur to describe a worker at his James City County mobile home park three months earlier.
Nissan called Crumpler's statements ``reprehensible'' and said he had damaged the automaker's image. Crumpler apologized in a videotaped statement.
Nissan notified Crumpler in mid-December that it would terminate his franchise in 90 days. Under state law, he could ask for a hearing from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Nissan has not yet received a response from Crumpler, Lewis said.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB