Today we learned that the murderer of Lateisha Green, a transgender woman from New York, will receive the maximum penalty: 25 years in prison. Dwight DeLee was convicted on July 17th of first degree manslaughter as a hate crime (see GLAAD’s blog post and HRC’s statement).
While this is welcomed news, violence against the transgender community continues. A brutal crime against a transgender woman happened last month in Trinidad, Colorado – home to Dr. Marci Bowers’ sex-reassignment practice. From the Unfinished Lives Project blog Rev. Dr. Stephen Sprinkle, HRC’s Religion and Faith Program advisor on hate crimes, reports:
According to reports on the scene, the victim was pushed into her motel room by the attacker after answering her door. He verbally denigrated her because of her identity, and proceeded to force sex acts on her. He then raped her, using a wooden coat hanger to assault her sexually. To finish the job, the attacker then plunged the victim in a full tub of water in the bathroom, and attempted to execute her by tossing an electric hair dryer into tub with her. The breaker blew, preventing a fatality. Frustrated in his attempt to murder the victim, the assailant dragged her back to the bed, bound her with a phone cord, slapped her repeatedly, and warned her not to come back to Trinidad because her “kind” were not wanted there.
We are thankful the victim survived, and hope that the perpetrator is brought to justice. Violence against transgender people is all too common in the United States, and is often deadly. Each year, people mark the brutal end to transgender lives on November 20, known as the Transgender Day of Remembrance - an event HRC has been proud to have been a part of for the past seven years:
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