Questioning Transphobia

Via Associated Press:

NY man gets 25 years for transgender hate killing

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An upstate New York man has been sentenced to the maximum 25 years in prison for the hate crime killing of a transgender woman.

Dwight DeLee was found guilty of manslaughter last month for shooting Lateisha (lah-TEE’-shuh) Green because of anti-gay bias. The 20-year-old construction laborer is just the second person in the nation convicted of a hate crime for killing a transgender victim. He was sentenced Tuesday in Syracuse by Judge William Walsh.

[...]

DeLee was acquitted of murder. The manslaughter conviction means he intended to injure, not kill, someone when he fired into a car where Green was sitting with her brother and a friend.

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

TLDEF reports via Twitter that Dwight R. DeLee has been found guilty of first degree manslaughter as a hate crime.

More later.

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ETA: Associated Press has this to say (via)

NY man guilty of hate crime in transgender slaying
(AP) – 34 minutes ago

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A jury in upstate New York has convicted a man of a hate crime for killing a transgender woman.

Dwight DeLee was found guilty of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Lateisha (lah-TEE’-shuh) Green outside a Syracuse house party in November because of anti-gay bias. The jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for about six hours over two days.

DeLee faces additional prison time because he was convicted of a hate crime. He becomes just the second person in the U.S. convicted of a hate crime that involved a transgender victim.

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Further ETA: First, it must be said that Teish’s family are on record as being satisfied with the verdict. I fully accept and respect their views on the matter, and send my condolences to the family.

In the statement released by her family, they say:

The jury convicted Dwight Delee of murdering Teish in cold blood. They found him guilty of targeting Teish simply because of her difference. And the jury has made it clear that any loss of life in our city and county because of anti-gay and anti-transgender bias is unacceptable and wrong. justice has been done.

(Via GLAAD, link here)

But I have to say that – personally – I’m disappointed that the legal process reduced the charge from second-degree murder to manslaughter in the first degree. In passing, the DA’s office is to be commended for proceeding with the hate crime charge, despite challenges by Mr Delee’s lawyers.

Also, although the case is notable for being the first hate crime conviction for the death of a trans person in New York, the current state of the legislation in NY includes real or perceived sexual orientation – but excludes gender identity. Meaning that Mr Delee was found guilty of a hate crime based on his perception of Lateisha Green’s sexual orientation – not her gender identity. And as we know, Mr Delee considered Teish to be a gay man, and not a trans woman.

In my opinion, this is a glaring omission in NY’s hate crime legislation, and one which I hope will be remedied as quickly as possible.

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

In advance of the trial next week of Dwight R. DeLee for the murder of Lateisha Green, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) has produced an online Resource Kit. Although intended primarily for use by the media, it makes interesting reading for anyone with an interest in the case.

Due to this landmark case’s complexities and its significance for LGBT people, it is of utmost importance that media coverage of Lateisha’s tragic death be inclusive, accurate, and respectful of a community that is too often targeted for harassment and violence.

(Via)

The Resource Kit is in a total of four sections:

• The Lateisha Green Murder: Violence Against Transgender People Resource Kit (link here)
• The Lateisha Green Story (link here)
• Media Resources for Covering Hate Crimes (link here)
• Appendix: Hate Crime Laws (link here)

As regards the trial itself, TLDEF says it will be posting daily updates on its website (link to TLDEF website), as well as live Tweeting from the courtroom (link to TLDEF on Twitter). Finally, the Justice for Teish Green Facebook page will also be updated regularly (link here).

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

Monday (July 13) sees the start of the trial of Dwight R. DeLee, who is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting last November 14, 2008, of Latiesha “Teish” Green.

Ms Green and her brother, Mark Cannon, were shot with a rifle as they sat in a parked car. The bullet grazed the left arm of Mark Cannon, who was in the driver’s seat, and hit Ms Green in the chest.

From the start, Ms Green’s family pressed for her death to be treated as a hate crime, and the court case – which will be held in Syracuse, NY – will be tried as such, although the prosecution contends the victim was targeted because of sexual orientation. Ms Green’s sister, Shaconia Williams, said Ms Green called herself a transsexual woman.

Speaking in Cnylink Local News (link here), Roxanne Green, Teish’s mother, acknowledged that the spotlight has been hard for her at times.

“It’s bad enough to live with families that don’t approve,” said Roxanne Green. “I never expected a gay son and I have two. It needs to stop. They hurt and I hurt. I have a boy living with me now because he can’t go home. For these kids to fear school! Teish had to go to school late and leave school early. That was the school’s idea of helping! It made Teish angry. She wanted to go when everyone else did.”

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“I relive a lot of things,” she said. “[She] really took something precious. I lost a mother when I was nine and that hurt. Losing a child is a whole different hurt.”

But Mary Alice Smothers [of the Wyoming St. P.E.A.C.E. office] doesn’t see this as different from other fights over the years.

“It’s always about the youth,” she said. “It’s always about empowering them to be able to speak and have their voice. We let adultism get in the way. They know where they want to go. As parents, we know we raised them on the right track and we have to let them.”

Gina Morvay has created a Facebook page to act as both a memorial for Ms Green and a clearing house for information about the trial. Here’s the link.

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox

Last November 14, 2008, less than a week before the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a cis man, Dwight R. DeLee, shot Teisha Cannon as she sat in a car with her brother Mark. Police charged Mr DeLee, of Syracuse, with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting.

Via the Post-Standard of November 17, 2008:

“There was no previous argument between these individuals, there was no previous fight, there was no bad blood,” [Syracuse police Chief Gary Miguel] said. “Our suspect took a rifle and shot and killed this person, also wounding [her] brother, for the sole reason he didn’t care for the sexual preference of our victim. Isn’t that sad? Isn’t that a sad situation that that’s the sole reason why?”

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From the outset, Cannon’s family said his death should be treated as a hate crime.

Via the Post-Standard of June 4, 2008:

County Judge William Walsh today upheld the constitutionality of the state’s hate crime law in the murder prosecution of Dwight DeLee.

DeLee is charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in the Nov. 14 shooting death of Moses Cannon. Cannon was described by [her] family as a transsexual who went by the name Latiesha “Teish” Green. The prosecution contends the victim was targeted because of sexual orientation.

Defense lawyer Clarence Johnson had asked Walsh to find the hate crime law unconstitutionally vague and general and unconstitutional in its specific application to DeLee.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Doran defended the statute and the prosecution of DeLee in court this morning.

After listening to the legal arguments, Walsh sided with the prosecution and allowed the case to go forward as a hate crime murder prosecution.

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Cross-posted at Bird of Paradox