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Breaking: Guilty Verdicts In LaTeisha Green Hate Crime Homicide Trial

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 13:01:14 PM EDT

Andy Marra: LaTeisha Green Hate Crime Homicide Verdict

From Feministe's Lateisha Green's Killer Dwight DeLee Convicted of Manslaughter as a Hate Crime:

There is a verdict in the trial of Dwight DeLee for the death of Lateisha Green. Green was a trans woman who died from gunshot wounds in November; DeLee was originally charged with murder in the second degree as a hate crime.
Just minutes ago, the verdict came back and was announced on Twitter (the AP also has a blurb). A jury convicted Dwight DeLee of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime.

From the full Associated Press' article NY man guilty of hate crime in transgender slaying:

A jury on Friday convicted a man of manslaughter as a hate crime for killing a transgender woman he shot outside a house party last year.
Dwight DeLee was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter for the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Lateisha Green outside a Syracuse house party in November because of anti-gay bias. He becomes just the second person in the U.S. convicted of a hate crime that involved the death of a transgender victim.
The Onondaga County Court 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.

Syracuse.com is reporting that:

DeLee, 20, of Gifford Street, now faces a minimum of 10 years in state prison, and a maximum of 25 years, when he is sentenced by Judge William Walsh Aug. 18.
The jury of six men and six women acquitted DeLee of a more serious charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime.

UPDATE: Press releases from The Task Force and GLAAD below the fold.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: LaTeisha Green

Autumn Sandeen :: Breaking: Guilty Verdicts In LaTeisha Green Hate Crime Homicide Trial

Task Force responds to guilty verdict in trial involving the killing of Lateisha Green
July 17, 2009
MEDIA CONTACT:
Inga Sarda-Sorensen
Director of Communications
(Office) 646.358.1463
(Cell) 202.641.5592
isorensen@theTaskForce.org
WASHINGTON, July 17 - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responded today to the verdict against Dwight DeLee, who was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, for the fatal shooting of Lateisha Green, a 22-year-old African-American transgender woman. On Nov. 14, 2008, Green was shot and killed outside a house party in Syracuse, N.Y.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
"This verdict sends a strong message that hate violence will not be condoned. How many more like Lateisha Green must spill blood before our society says no to harassment, no to discrimination and no to violence against transgender people? We must move forward, at all levels of government, to pass laws that fight hate in schools, in workplaces and on the streets. We must continue working toward a culture that affirms the dignity and worth of all people. While no verdict will bring Lateisha Green back, justice was served today."
To learn more about the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, follow us on Twitter: @TheTaskForce.

~~~~~

GLAAD Statement On Guilty Verdict In The Killing Of LaTeisha Green
Contact:
Cindi Creager
Director of National News
(646) 871-8019
creager@glaad.org
New York, NY, July 17, 2009 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today responded to the verdict in the trial involving the killing of Lateisha (Teish) Green. Green, a 22-year-old African American transgender woman, was shot and killed on November 14, 2008 in Syracuse, N.Y. Today a jury found 20-year old Dwight Delee guilty of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime.
"Today's verdict brings justice for Lateisha Green, but it can never heal the immense loss her family has experienced," said Jarrett Barrios, incoming President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "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."
Today's verdict is the first hate crime conviction for the death of a transgender person in New York. Dwight Delee was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate-crime based on his perception of Lateisha Green's sexual orientation.
GLAAD Senior Media Field Strategist Andy Marra has been on the ground throughout the trial in Syracuse, N.Y. working closely with Lateisha Green's family, numerous media outlets and alongside our sister organizations the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and the Empire State Pride Agenda. Marra worked to ensure that all media coverage of this case was fair, accurate and inclusive.
Following the verdict Lateisha Green's family released this statement:
"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.
"8 long months that have kept our family captive to our fears, sadness and anger. Afraid to leave our homes, sad to have lost Teish and angry that we couldn't prevent this from happening to our little girl. But today, the jury delivered a verdict that will end most of the horrors experienced by our family and friends.
"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.
"But we will never get to see Teish ever again. She will forever live in our hearts and minds. And it is our duty to share her story so that Teish's memory will be kept alive. We do this so this series of painful events will never happen again to any other person because they are different.
"Our family and friends will continue to talk about Teish so others may know the love and support that every child deserves regardless of their differences. We want to thank everyone who stood behind us and gave our family strength during such difficult times. The overwhelming amount of support has meant so much to us. we want to close by saying life is precious. Teish knew that and that's why she would tell everyone here to be brave. To be authentic and true to yourself. And Teish would give a beautiful and bright smile to everyone here. Thank you."

Tags: Transgender, LGBT, Hate Crimes, Lateisha Green, (All Tags)

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Breaking: Guilty Verdicts In LaTeisha Green Hate Crime Homicide Trial | 15 comments

Great thanks ..... for everything. Autumn.

It's the Hammer of JUSTICE,
It's the Bell of FREEDOM,
It's the Song about LOVE between,
my Brothers and my Sisters
...All over this Land.

by: Orion45 @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:07:05 PM CDT

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thank goodness for justice

I'm glad it was swift and clear.

by: Pam Spaulding @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:09:31 PM CDT

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Good news for a sad situation

But I thought first degree murder is deemed harsher than second degree murder, so I don't understand the syracuse.com reporting at all when they say he was acquitted of a more serious charge. Can anyone explain?

by: Will St. James @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:16:18 PM CDT

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Doh

Should have read the article more closely. It was first degree manslaughter not murder. So the second degree murder would have been harsher. My bad.

by: Will St. James @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:19:03 PM CDT

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Thanks Autumn for updating this story

My reaction is this verdict shows imperfect progress.
The conviction with Hate Crime additional time, vs. the disappointment that harsher charges weren't brought.
The indignity shown of describing the victim by the birthname, rather than LaTeisha, is an issue I'd like to see adressed in new laws respecting gender identity.

"race, taste. and History finally overcome....and you ain't there"
by Tony Kushner

by: peteyPornpig @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:19:12 PM CDT

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Thanks Andy too

"race, taste. and History finally overcome....and you ain't there"
by Tony Kushner

by: peteyPornpig @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:28:27 PM CDT

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Thank GLAAD & TLDEF for the coverage...

...We can thank GLAAD's Andy Marra and TLDEF's Michael Silverman for their work in both covering, and imporoving the MSM coverage, of the trial.

-----
~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

by: Autumn Sandeen @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:32:42 PM CDT

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By contrast

There's THIS.

by: David Ehrenstein @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:24:07 PM CDT

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Yeah.

Justice, when a defense team uses a panic strategy for a defendent, can be a bit of an iffy thing.

-----
~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

by: Autumn Sandeen @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:30:05 PM CDT

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That case should have been manslaughter

I don't understand why they went with manslaughter in this case rather than murder.

With these panic defenses, it seems that juries buy the idea that if a man makes unwanted advances on another man, it justifies beating or killing him. Can you imagine if women responded to unwanted advances from men by killing them? We'd have men lying dead in the streets all over the place.

by: JosephineTx @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:58:18 PM CDT

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My comments

This has been a really hard week for a lot of us in Syracuse. I've written up some thoughts as a form of therapy.

Also, Lateisha's family, TDLEF, and Andy Marra of GLAAD have been amazing.

by: eastsidekate @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:55:06 PM CDT

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Possible reason for manslaughter conviction rather than murder

It looks like this is an example of the hate crime law working.

Perhaps the jury was convinced that the perpetrator fired into the car with reckless disregard to the cosequences of bullets flying through the passenger compartment would have on the occupants, that he did not aim at a particular occupant, and perhaps did not have sufficient mens rea for intentional murder (Murder in the 2nd degree)

The jury may have been convinced that this reckless action took place because of the perpetrator's belief that the occupants of the car were gay - thus the hate crime enhancement.

Essentially, the penalty for manslaughter in the first degree with a hate crime enhancement is the equivalent of the penalty for murder in the second degree without any enhancement.

In Orange County, New York, in the murder of Dr. Binenfeld, the prosecution allowed the defendant (Jason Bardsley) to plead to manslaughter because of a threat of a "gay panic defense" - the murder statute allows for a reduction from murder to manslaughter because the act was committed under "extreme emotional distress."

In the present case, I don't know the charges that were read to the jury. I don't know if the prosecution was for murder (with manslaughter as a lesser included offense).

Thus I don't know if the jury could have decided that this was really murder, but had to be reduced to manslaughter because of "extreme emotional distress" but that at the same time, the reason for the extreme emotional distress was sufficient to sustain a hate crime charge. In this convoluted analysis, the value of the hate crime enhancement in a murder prosecution would be to neutralize the "gay panic" defense (as much as the extreme emotional distress defense seems to neutralize the hate crimes law in a murder prosecution).

So I have questions - was this a murder prosecution, or a manslaughter prosecution? Was this a straightforward matter of a reckless disregard for life by firing wildly into a car, or a jury accepting a panic defense at the same time as condemning the motive?

In either event, justice for Teish Green's killer will result in a long prison sentence.

Does anyone here know the answers? - I am just speculating.

by: Joann Prinzivalli @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 14:57:48 PM CDT

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I got a partial answer

I should have first gone to the TLDEF blog on this at
http://www.transgenderlegal.or...

HAd I done so, I would have gotten a synopsis of the charges to the jury.

The jury did have the opportunity to convict the defendant of murder with a hate crime enhancement, as well as the lesser included offenses (with or without hate crime amplification).

There is a possibility that when the judge fully explained the murder charge, the "extreme emotional distress" reduction was discussed.

So it looks like either of the scenarios remain a possibility - that the jury believed that the perpetrator was reckles rather then intentional, or that he was intentional but under emotional distress - but in either case the motivation was based on hatred of a class of people.

Again - does anyone know which one is the case?

by: Joann Prinzivalli @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 15:11:32 PM CDT

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I don't know what the jury was thinking...

but the judge didn't mention anything about emotional distress in his instructions to the jury. TDLEF reported that among the questions that the jury had, they questioned whether and how much the defendant had been drinking. This might have been a consideration, although my guess is that the jury considered it manslaughter because DeLee was firing into the car, but not necessarily aiming at anyone in particular.

by: eastsidekate @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 15:41:47 PM CDT

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Thank you Kate!

Thanks for being there, too. The "firing into the car with reckless disregard without aiming at anyone in particular" factor together with the drinking issue, are likely to have had an effect on the jury's deliberations. (That other theory was probably too convoluted for a jury to come up with without a charge from the judge).

by: Joann Prinzivalli @ Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 16:40:38 PM CDT

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