The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 34

Sunday, May 22, 1S34 2B Poll finds 'Bible Belters' live up to conservative reputation ATLANTA (AP) No cheating on taxes or spouses. No sex before marriage. No disputing the Bible. And no kidding, the Devil is real and Jesus is coming again. i Those are the views of a majority of Southerners in a new poll that shows the nation's so-called Bible Belt remains true to its conservative reputation.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Southern Life Poll, published in Sunday's editions, found that more than 90 percent of Southerners believe extramarital affairs are morally wrong; 85 percent think it's wrong to cheat on taxes, and more than 50 percent said sex before marriage is a no-no for men and women. Eight in 10 Southerners believe in the Devil, while seven of 10 non-Southerners think he's real. Eight in 10 Southerners also believe Jesus will return to Earth for the Second Coming; only six in 10 non-Southerners think so. "I think we are entering the last days. I don't see how it can get much worse," said poll participant Joseph Winkler, a United Methodist from Hudson, N.C., explaining his belief in the Second Coming and in what he sees as the Devil's spreading influence.

"Southerners have historically believed in God and Christ and the church and salvation and the afterlife and have talked about it," said Samuel Hill, a professor at the University of Florida who edited "Encyclopedia of Religion in the South." "They're much more willing to talk about God as if he were their best friend and indeed they mean for him to be than people in other parts of the country." The poll was based on telephone interviews with 1,389 randomly selected adults nationwide, including 970 in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points for Southerners and 5 percentage points for non-Southerners. The interviews were conducted Feb. 1 through March 20. Almost half of all Southerners label the United States a Christian nation and they believe the government should pass laws to keep it that way.

Only 33 percent of non-Southemers hold this view. "We should be a Christian country, I think we'd survive and be better off and the Lord would smile on us if we were," Louise Boyd Temple, a 74-year-old mother of five from Magnolia, told the newspaper. The Rev. James Dunn, the head of the moderate Baptist Joint Committee in Washington, said he was troubled by this finding. "It's a terribly unsettling thing that roughly half see this as a Christian nation because it's a denial of the First Amendment and a denial of a basic understanding of Christianity.

This is a free nation under God, not a Christian nation," he said. Some researchers are skeptical that Southerners are as judgmental and strict in their moral code as the poll results indicate. "A lot of people say that something is immoral when really what they're saying is that it seems contrary to nature or abnormal, or it violates a social norm," said Larry Nucci, a University of Illinois at Chicago professor who specializes in moral and social development. Sixty-six percent of Southerners believe the Bible is scientifically, historically and literally true, according to the poll. This compares with 52 percent of non-Southerners.

Some questioned that finding. "People don't take the Bible literally," said Randall Bailey, of Atlanta's Interdenominational Theological Center. "They take the parts that are comfortable to them literally." ivz toon Proposed pair! 'r oil B. Few of offenders targeted in bill actually paroled arr COLUMBIA (AP) Murderers, rapists and kidnappers al-ready spend many years sometimes decades behind bars, but figures show banning parole for those criminals makes only a minuscule change in the system of crime and punishment. The state Senate voted Thursday to ban parole for anyone convicted of murder, first-degree rape and kidnapping.

If enacted, the ban would apply only to crimes committed after the governor signed the bill. South Carolina already only paroles a handful of those committing the most violent crimes every year, according to figures supplied by the Probation and Parole Department. The Parole Board let 1,785 inmates go early during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, the latest year figures were available. Just 129 of those inmates were convicted of sexual assault, kidnapping or a homicide charge. A "substantially smaller" number of inmates released on parole were convicted of those most serious crimes of murder, first-degree rape and kidnapping, said Tom Hudson, a spokesman for the Probation and Parole Department.

Sen. Larry Richter, who pushed colleagues to adopt the parole ban, acknowledges the Senate's move is only a small step. "The fact that we are taking the first step, that in our state it is now OK to abolish parole for certain offenses, is the most important part of this story, in my view," said Richter, R-Mount Pleasant. "The next area of attack, you move to the next batch of people, limiting parole for the next cut of killers," he said. Pete O'Boyle, director of the South Carolina Victims Assistance Network, said the Senate's action is more "symbolic" than true sentencing reform.

But he applauds the move anyway. "It's society's way of saying these most terrible crimes, we're going to impose the severest punishment that we can," O'Boyle said. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Hodges, D-Lancaster, said he wants lawmakers to examine whether to abolish parole for some less violent crimes such as armed robbery and assault with intent to kill. "Those are the ones, typically you see them get out and commit another crime. And generally it gets worse every time," Hodges said.

Of the 17,000 inmates in the state's prison system, 2,056 are in Si 11 1. STAFF ALAN HA WE 3 1 Candidate for top state court withdraws Vj vv wv 7j for the crimes covered by the Senate ban: 1,260 inmates are in for murder, 271 are in for kidnapping and 525 are in for first-de-gree rape, according to Corrections Department spokeswoman Robyn Zimmerman. Banning parole would not impact the scores of other inmates who do not apply for parole, but simply finish their time and walk out. About 45 percent of inmates entering state prisons get out by earning enough credits for working and good behavior so they "max out" at some point before their sentence expires, Mrs. Zimmerman said.

Richter and Hodges both say the state should reduce the ability of violent inmates to be released early. The House had a chance to do that this year with a "truth-in-sentencing" bill that would have required those criminals to serve 80 percent of their sentence. Questions about how much it would cost led legislators to balk. Hodges said he still may push to get the measure passed, but he acknowledged that financial questions remain. "But from what sources in the Legislature were telling me, I was a legitimate contender and was standing in the top three vote-getters," the letter says.

The remaining candidates are Appellate Judge Randall Bell of Columbia and Circuit Judges Ralph Anderson of Florence, E.C. Burnett of Spartanburg, J. Ernest Kinard of Camden and Costa Plei-cones of Columbia. Key lawmakers say the race still is a toss-up. education, Summerton started sending their children to other school districts or to an all-white private school in town.

Starting next year, students at Scott's Branch move across town to a new, school building. They leave behind a cramped school building on the predominantly black side of town. It's Time To Visit Seneca Optical for Hew Affordable Eyewear Bifocal Glasses Greenville County Master-in-Equity Charles B. Simmons is withdrawing his name as a candidate for the state Supreme Court, saying he believes he cannot win the contest. The General Assembly will pick one of five remaining candidates on Wednesday.

The candidate chosen will become one of five members of the top state court late this year, when Associate Justice Ernest Finney of Sumter moves up to become chief justice. In a letter to state legislators, Simmons said he entered the race as a "virtual unknown" in. the General Assembly and as the youngest candidate vying for the seat. He i i Simmons wasthe only candidate who is not a Circuit Court or Appeals Court judge. business owners fired blacks who were members of the civil rights organization.

Many blacks who relied on whites for credit or loaned farm equipment were unable to earn a living and moved away. When the schools began desegregating, many white parents LU I IIIIII.UU.IL.J..I. A M.I II' i Prepare to get wet Katie Blair, 4, throws a ball as Sid Crum-pton of the Lions Club waits to fall into the water at the dunk tank, during the annual Middle Tyger Good 01' Days Festival on Saturday in Wellford. The festival ends Sunday with a 5 p.m. "Gospel Song Fest '94" at Wellford First Baptist Church Gymnasium.

Blacks still get inferior NAACP official says in 2 Anderson men wounded men charged in unrelated shootings son, who lives with Harper's ex-wife, according to Mike Temple of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. A 33-year-old Anderson man was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill in connec-tion with the shooting. The suspect's name could not be confirmed through a warrant. Darryl Mattison, 24, of 206 Revere Court, Anderson, was shot twice in the abdomen at 8:56 a.m. outside his home when two men Two Anderson men were listed in critical condition in the hospital Saturday following unrelated shootings.

One shooting stemmed from a fight about the custody of a child and another shooting arose in a dispute over a van. Steve M. Harper, 33, of 1204 Martin Road, Anderson, was shot in his back and right index finger at 11:40 a.m. at 208 Burris where he was trying to see his WYFF to air 3 half hour weeknight newscasts SUMMERTON (AP) Blacks continue to get an inferior education nationwide despite the four decades since the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation unconstitutional, NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Chavis said Saturday.

"There isn't a school district in America that is treating our children fairly," said Chavis, marking the 40th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education in a town that once forced out blacks who began the fight for desegregated schools. The Brown decision in 1954 was the result of four lawsuits, including the Briggs vs. Elliott case brought by residents of this small town about 50 miles southeast of Columbia, the state capital. Board members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, holding an annual meeting in South Carolina, ate a grits-and-biscuits breakfast with the residents who brought the case.

The organization's leaders paid tribute to the plaintiffs in the dilapidated gymnasium of Scott's Branch High School, which now has 565 black students and just two whites. The school district, Clarendon 1, has the lowest percentage of white students and one of the two worst academic reputations in South Carolina. "The educational dilemma in this county is a direct result of the history of this struggle," Chavis said. After the local case was argued by then-NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall, Summerton's white went to his house because they were looking for a van, officials said. Temple said two Anderson men were charged with assault and battery with intent to kill.

Their names could not be confirmed through warrants. The suspects were being held in the Anderson County Detention Center. Harper and Mattison were in critical condition at the Anderson Area Medical Center. ample, at 5, much of our audience is female Because of Oprah, so we'll probably do a lot of health news there," Still said. The move represents a continued expansion of news coverage by local affiliates.

WLOS-TV last year added a 5 p.m. newscast, and WSPA-TV recently started five-minute news updates on CNN Headline News and announced local newscasts on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Officials of these stations have said that affiliates need to raise their news profiles in regions they serve to give local stations a more distinct identity in the face of competition from cable TV and the advent of the so-called "500-channel" universe of viewing Single Vision Glasses As Low As M8 $88 and morning co-anchor Sterlin Benson will anchor "News 4 at 5:30," and Goldsmith and Clark will continue as anchors of "News 4 at 6" and "News 4 Tonight." "Since Greenville is the hot spot in the nation for economic growth, it deserves a growing local news service," station news director Andy Still said. "And in producing newscasts, it's difficult to ask viewers in the '90s to endure a one-hour program. We've got to figure out ways to package things with a shorter format." "NBC Nightly News" will shift to 6:30 p.m., and WYFF will move "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to 4 p.m.

to accommodate the additional newscasts. "These will be three separate and distinct newscasts. For ex- "Plus Of minus 4 diopters, spherical Includes frame and lenses. No additional dispensing fee. Price does not include eye exam.

It's part of a continued expansion of news coverage by local affiliates. By David Eskola Staff writer WYFF-TV on Thursday will replace its one-hour weeknight newscast at 6 p.m. with three 30-minute newscasts airing from 5 to 6:30 p.m., station officials said. "These days, people want more local news, and research shows they want it in a shorter format," WYFF station manager David McAtee said Friday. Carol Goldsmith and morning co-anchor Tim Waller will anchor "News 4 Live at Carl Clark 4- 0 OPTICAL 803-882-3255 15993 Wells Highway; Seneca.

C. (Corner Square Between Belk Wal-Mart) N34313-E.