Who was Amber McLaughlin, the first transgender woman executed in the US? Know about the 2003 case

On Tuesday evening, 3rd January, Missouri witnessed the execution of the first transgender woman in the U.S.Amber McLaughlin, a 49-year-old openly transgender woman was executed in Missouri for a 2003 murder. This is the first-ever execution of a transgender in the U.S.Amber McLaughlin was found guilty of stalking and killing a former girlfriend before disposing of her body near the Mississippi River in St. Louis. McLaughlin's fate was sealed earlier Tuesday when Republican Gov. Mike Parson denied the request for clemency.

Why was Amber McLaughlin executed?

McLaughlin was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 in the killing of Beverly Guenther, and a judge sentenced her to death after the jury deadlocked on its sentencing decision. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson denied clemency Tuesday after advocates expressed concern over her sentencing.

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“McLaughlin is a violent criminal,” Parson said in a statement Tuesday. “Ms Guenther’s family and loved ones deserve peace. The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin’s sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”

What was the 2003 case of McLaughlin?

McLaughlin was in a relationship with a woman, Beverly Guenther before her transition into a transgender woman. After they stopped dating, McLaughlin would show up at the suburban St. Louis office where the 45-year-old Guenther worked, sometimes hiding inside the building, according to court records. Guenther obtained a restraining order, and police officers occasionally escorted her to her car after work.

When Guenther did not return home onthe night of 20th November 2003, her neighbours called the police. Officers went to the office building and discovered a blood trail and a broken knife handle near her car. McLaughlin led police to a location near the Mississippi River in St. Louis a day later, where the body had been dumped. Authorities claimed she was raped and repeatedly stabbed with a steak knife.

In 2006, McLaughlin was found guilty of first-degree murder. McLaughlin was sentenced to death by a judge after a jury deadlocked on the verdict. According to Komp, Missouri and Indiana are the only states where a judge can sentence someone to death.

A court in 2016 ordered a new sentencing hearing, but a federal appeals court panel reinstated the death penalty in 2021.

When and where McLaughlin was executed?

McLaughlin was pronounced dead at 6:51 pm. at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

McLaughlin spoke quietly with a spiritual adviser at her side as the fatal dose of pentobarbital was injected. McLaughlin breathed heavily a couple of times, then shut her eyes. She was pronounced dead a few minutes later.

What did the clemency of McLaughlin say?

McLaughlin's clemency petition claimed that the jury ignored her mental health concerns. Her clemency petition included details of traumatic childhood abuse, such as a foster parent rubbing faeces in her face as a toddler and her adoptive father shocking her with a stun gun.She suffered from depression, according to the clemency petition.

Gender dysphoria, a condition that causes anguish and other symptoms as a result of a disparity between a person's gender identity and their assigned sex at birth, was also mentioned in the clemency petition. However, McLaughlin's sexual orientation was "not the main focus" of her clemency request, according to her attorney, Larry Komp.

What McLaughlin said before her execution?

"I am sorry for what I did,"McLaughlin said in a final, written, statement. "I am a loving and caring person."

McLaughlin began her transition in prison about three years ago, according to a fellow inmate and friend, Jessica Hicklin.Hicklin said she rarely spoke to McLaughlin before McLaughlin's transition, describing her fellow inmate as shy.

"Definitely a vulnerable person,"Hicklin described McLaughlin. "Definitely afraid of being assaulted or victimised, which is more common for trans folks in the Department of Corrections."

Why this execution was different from other cases?

According to a database maintained by the anti-execution Death Penalty Information Center, 1,558 people have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in the mid-1970s. Except for 17, all of those executed were men. According to the centre, there have been no previous cases of an openly transgender inmate being executed. McLaughlin began transitioning at Potosi State Prison about three years ago.

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