Transgender Hate Crimes Panel Provides Personal Stories as well as Advocacy Insight
October 8, 2009
Wednesday evening’s panel on transgender hate-crimes in Brooklyn, New York, covered a range of perspectives and issues as victims, their families, and advocates discussed both their direct experience with bias-motivated crime and their work to educate the media, the government and law enforcement about gender identity and expression and anti-transgender crimes.
The event began with GLAAD’s own Senior Media Strategist Andy Marra and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund’s executive director Michael Silverman relating the complications and they faced during their recent work in Syracuse, N.Y. during the July trial held for Lateisha Green’s murder. First, they encountered the unfortunately common problem of law enforcement officials and reporters relaying incorrect information about the victim’s identity and dress; next came the prolonged effort to ensure that the crime was investigated as a hate crime and given the priority investigation status it merited; and finally, the complex issue of educating the media about Lateisha Green’s transgender identity while fighting in court, out of necessity, for a conviction under the category of a hate-crime committed on the basis of sexual orientation.
As explained in the Appendix of TLDEF’s Violence Against Transgender People Resource Kit, while New York State law classifies it as a hate crime for an individual to target and attack a victim because of the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, it does not explicitly make it a hate crime for an individual to attack another because of the victim’s gender identity or expression. The Boy in Bushwick blog quoted Michael Silverman describing how lawyers had to construct a “narrative that Teish was gay or lesbian to achieve a conviction.”
Federal law currently offers no recourse in that area either, though that seems about to change within just a few weeks when the Senate is expected to pass the new Defense Authorization bill with the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act attached – which will expand the existing federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.
The discussion then quickly moved to the first-hand experiences of Lateisha’s mother Roxanne Green, brother Mark Cannon (also shot by Lateisha’s killer that night), and friends, who all conveyed their great love for and pride in Lateisha. Mrs. Green spoke very movingly about her constant concern for her daughter as she grew up, as well as her constant support for her, [advising] parents to always support their children no matter who they are “because once they’re gone, Lord knows there’s no turning back.”
Another client of TLDEF’s, Carmella Etienne, shared her more recent trauma of being attacked with rocks and beer bottles as she walked home from her neighborhood grocery store in Queens this July. She recalled feeling most scarred not by the physical objects or the transphobic slurs being hurled at her, but rather by the lack of aid from onlookers and the 20 minutes she spent waiting for police assistance.
One of the major take-aways from the conversation was that there is no one single reason for the perpetration and general tolerance of crimes motivated by anti-transgender bias. It is not simply transphobia, or sexism alone at work, but rather the way that those issues are intertwined with issues of classism and racism that have allow crimes such as these to continue in our communities. But speaking out about these experiences and intersections will go a long way toward solving these problems.
The panel was moderated by Ejay Carter, the Empire State Pride Agenda’s Transgender Rights Program Organizer. The event was organized by Laura Vogel, a Legal Fellow at TLDEF and third year law student at Brooklyn Law School and cosponsored by Brooklyn Law School, Empire State Pride Agenda, GLAAD, Queens Pride House, Anti-Violence Project, and the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA).
Related Posts:TONIGHT – Transgender Hate Crimes Panel Discussion
October 7, 2009
Transgender Hate Crimes: Victims, Their Families & Advocates Speak Out
Wed, Oct 7th, 7pm
Brooklyn Law School, Forchelli Conference Center
205 State Street, Brooklyn
(Free and open to the public.)
GLAAD is pleased to participate in this evening’s community conversation about the violence that is perpetrated against people because of their gender identity or expression, and strategies to prevent and respond to it.
Our Senior Media Strategist Andy Marra will join Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund executive director Michael Silverman and Empire State Pride Agenda transgender rights program organizer Ejay Carter in discussing this hate-motivated violence and the status of gender identity and expression in federal and state hate crime laws. The family of Lateisha Green, the 22-year-old transgender woman whose death led to New York State’s first hate crime trial and conviction will be present along with two of TLDEF’s current clients, Leslie Mora and Carmella Etienne (who were each victims of separate hate crimes in Queens) to speak about their experience with such violence.
In July, GLAAD helped spotlight the guilty verdict announced in the trial held for Lateisha Green’s shooting. Andy Marra was on the ground in Syracuse, NY working closely with family, media outlets, TLDEF and Empire State Pride Agenda to ensure fair, accurate, and inclusive media coverage of the case.
TLDEF’s media advisory for the event cites statistics from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs that show murders of LGBT people in 2008 increased 28% from the previous year and that on average, a transgender person is murdered once a month in the United States.
We hope to see you at tonight’s event and will continue to update you regarding media coverage of crimes motivated by anti-LGBT bias.
Related Posts:Man Sentenced to 25 Years for the Killing of Lateisha Green
August 18, 2009
Dwight DeLee was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime in the shooting of Lateisha Green, the Associated Press reports. Green, a transgender woman, was shot to death while sitting in a car outside of a house party with her brother and a friend in November 2008. Witnesses at the scene stated that DeLee and others made anti-gay slurs at the time of the shooting.
As GLAAD earlier reported, DeLee was the second person in the country to be convicted of a hate crime for killing a transgender person. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) clarified the manslaughter charges in a blog posted during the trial of Dwight DeLee:
Manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime requires that an individual intends to cause serious physical injury to a person because of a belief regarding that person’s sexual orientation, and causes serious physical injury to that person or a third person.
DeLee received the maximum sentence and will also be subject to five years of supervision after the sentence is served.
The TLDEF, along with GLAAD and the Empire State Pride Agenda, has been working closely with Green’s family. It released a statement welcoming the sentencing, but urging more action on hate crime legislation. The TLDEF said:
Neither New York State law nor federal law includes gender identity or expression as hate crime categories and that sends a dangerous message that it is acceptable to leave part of our community vulnerable to hateful acts of violence simply because of who they are. We call upon our state and federal lawmakers to ensure adoption of transgender-inclusive legislation that will protect everyone regardless of their gender identity and gender expression.
The TLDEF statement also includes a statement from the Green family, who said:
Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that violence motivated by anti-transgender bias is unacceptable and wrong. It affects everyone in a community and it has left many hurt and distraught. We can only hope that Teish’s story will prevent any more loss of life simply because someone is different.
Local Syracuse stations ABC 9, NBC 3, and CBS 5 have continued to report on the Lateisha Green story and all have coverage of the sentencing on their websites.
Essence recently published a profile of Lateisha Green that gives insight into the life of transgender people.
GLAAD will continue to monitor this event and bring you coverage on all events surrounding the sentencing of Dwight DeLee.
Related Posts:BREAKING NEWS: Jury Finds Dwight DeLee Guilty of Manslaughter in the First Degree as a Hate Crime in Lateisha Green Case
July 17, 2009
A jury today found Dwight Delee guilty of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime after he brutally gunned down Lateisha Green, an African American transgender woman in Syracuse, New York last November.
GLAAD’s incoming President Jarrett Barrios said:
Today’s verdict brings justice for Lateisha Green, but it can never heal the immense loss her family has experienced. We join Lateisha Green’s family in mourning her tragic death and honoring her legacy, and we call on the media to spotlight the pervasive violence our community continues to face across the nation.
See GLAAD’s full statement on the verdict here.
Delee was also found guilty of possession of a weapon and is to be sentenced on August 18.
Several witnesses said they heard DeLee refer to Green as a “fa–ott” just before Green was shot with a .22-caliber rifle while sitting in a parked car outside the party.
After six hours the jury reached its verdict of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime.
The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund clarifies the charges on its blog:
Manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime requires that an individual intends to cause serious physical injury to a person because of a belief regarding that person’s sexual orientation, and causes serious physical injury to that person or a third person.
Green’s family responded to the verdict by remembering Lateisha:
Teish, a beautiful girl. A wonderful daughter. A brave soul. Teish was all of these things despite the adversity that regularly tried to weigh her down and overshadow her love of life. She was taken away from us too soon. All it took was one bullet. A bullet from a rifle that pierced her lungs and heart. And it took this one mere bullet to end Teish’s life because she happened to be a transgender woman. We have spent months waiting for this day to come.
GLAAD’s Senior Media Strategist, Andy Marra, sat in on the DeLee trial in Syracuse, New York. Marra’s account of the trial and subsequent verdict can be found here.
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of Dwight DeLee’s conviction for the killing of Lateisha Green. Updates can be found on glaadBLOG.org.
Related Posts:GLAAD in Syracuse for Lateisha Green’s Trial
July 10, 2009
I am on the ground in Syracuse preparing for next week’s court trial involving the murder of Lateisha Green. I will be in Syracuse with a couple of our sister organizations throughout the entire trial working with both the family and media outlets covering this profoundly sad story.
On November 14, 2008, “Teish,” a young African American transgender woman, was shot and killed. You can read more about her story here.
For the past few months, I have been working with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) and the Rainbow Alliance of Central New York to raise awareness around Teish’s murder and ensure media coverage is fair and accurate throughout the trial.
Lateisha Green. Image from News-10.
This particular trial is important. Teish’s murder will be the first hate crimes prosecution in New York State involving the murder of a transgender person. It is also the first murder ever classified as a hate crime in Onondaga County.
On Monday, July 13, Dwight DeLee will go on trial for the murder of Lateisha Green. If DeLee is found guilty, it will be only the second conviction involving the murder of a transgender person as a hate crime in the United States. The first occurred earlier this year in the trial for the murder of Angie Zapata in Greeley, Colorado – you can read about our extensive work with the Zapata family here.
Prior to the trial, GLAAD, TLDEF and the Rainbow Alliance have planned a community memorial service at a local church to remember Teish and her life. Teish’s family will deliver brief remarks followed by a few performances by local groups. The service will close with doves and bubbles being released outside of the sanctuary.
I have been speaking with reporters and journalists about the memorial service. We are expecting The Associated Press and The Syracuse Post-Standard among a few others to attend the service and provide coverage leading up to Monday’s trial.
We have also arranged for a press conference to occur before the trial begins on Monday. Roxanne Greene, Teish’s mother, will deliver a brief statement, followed by remarks from the Rainbow Alliance of Central New York, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and Empire State Pride Agenda.
I wanted to provide our readers with a few details about what you can do before the trial begins to unfold:
- We wanted to let you know that readers can submit personal notes of encouragement to Lateisha’s family during this difficult time. You can email correspondence to: rgreen269@gmail.com. We cannot guarantee the family will be able to reply to your emails. Please do not direct media requests to the family’s email address. GLAAD is fielding all media requests for the family, so please email me instead at marra@glaad.org.
- Make sure to visit and join the Justice For Teish Facebook group for news and updates about the trial. The group has 4730 members and counting. GLAAD and TLDEF are administrators so we will be posting information to update members throughout the trial.
- GLAAD and TLDEF have also teamed up to tweet live throughout our time in Syracuse:
You can follow me on Twitter for media developments, observations during the court trial and other updates at @Andy_Marra.
I will also be blogging throughout the trial to keep our readers updated on the trial and any related developments.
Please also follow Michael Silverman on Twitter for legal analysis and commentary related to the court trial at @TLDEF.
I need to go and prepare for several meetings including one with Lateisha’s family. But make sure to check back often for the latest developments at GLAADblog or by following us on Twitter.
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