Shooter of Trans Woman Convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter
Terron Oates was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Alexis King. His story is that he was looking to pick up a sex worker, discovered the woman he picked up had a penis, and shot her in the heat of that reaction. In fact, he claimed that Alexis became sexually aggressive and put his hand on her penis, prompting him to shoot her twice. The defense tried to claim that Terron’s youth and naiveté contributed to him picking up Alexis instead of a cis woman.
But, from the article:
- He was out at 5 am on a school night
- He went to a strip club
- He had an illegal gun in his car
- He had the presence of mind to dispose of the firearm
- When he called 911, he told a story about a robbery and an unknown gunman
- Paramedics say that Alexis’ penis was tucked firmly away
- Sgt Daniel Dutch, an undercover john, says he’s never heard of or experienced such behavior from a trans woman sex worker – trans women tend to not draw attention to their genitalia
- Alexis was shot from the side and from behind, not from the front as you’d expect from Oates’ story.
This wasn’t manslaughter. This was a man trolling for trans women sex workers to murder. He was prepared to kill, his story doesn’t match the facts. Why did the jury let him off with a mild sentence for his crime? Because they sympathized with the trans panic defense.
And what’s the risk when you give murderers a slap on the wrist? They get out of prison and kill again. Remember that trans anger post from the other day? We have many things to be angry about, and this decision is one of them.
Fuck you Philadelphia. Do you have a single judge who respects the humanity of trans women, women of color, or sex workers?
Remember that trans anger post from the other day? We have many things to be angry about, and this decision is one of them.
Definitely.
Helen G
23 Aug 08 at 2:55 pm
Thanks for relaying all those news, I think you are doing an important work.
But I have (again) a stupid question : what is the difference between “manslaughter” and “murder” ? I understand that it implies differences in the number of years of the sentence, but what’s the real difference ? Premeditation ?
Elly Rouge
23 Aug 08 at 3:05 pm
Okay:
And:
Lisa Harney
23 Aug 08 at 3:13 pm
The “voluntary manslaughter” thing is where I’m confused, too. Wouldn’t it be the same thing as second degree murder? I guess it all depends on how much humanity the judge ascribes to the person who was killed.
Emily
23 Aug 08 at 3:33 pm
The only way this judgment makes sense is if murdering trans women isn’t as bad as murdering cis women.
Lisa Harney
23 Aug 08 at 3:36 pm
OK, thanks for the explanations, I got it better.
And yes indeed, it just means that it’s understandable to become violent when in front of a trans person :/
Elly Rouge
23 Aug 08 at 7:07 pm
Fuck you Philadelphia. Do you have a single judge who respects the humanity of trans women, women of color, or sex workers?
No. Not a single judge, not a single (white, at least) police officer, and damned few anywhere in the law enforcement system (the prosecutor in the Alexis King case might perhaps be an exception).
Philadelphia is a cesspool of hate against these groups.
Even the Human Relations Commission is worthless. PGN reported recently that of over 400 claims of discrimination filed by LGBT people, it has acted on exactly 3 of them.
GallingGalla
23 Aug 08 at 8:25 pm
Yeah, I thought as much.
Can’t forget Erica Keel, either.
Lisa Harney
23 Aug 08 at 8:32 pm
city of brotherly love!
not that it makes this decision make any more sense, but as i understand it, the difference between second degree and first degree is premeditation; the difference between murder and manslaughter is intent to kill.
so, like, if you pushed someone off a skyscraper, you might be able to plead second degree (i.e. spur of the moment), but i don’t think manslaughter would fly, because, well, pretty much that’s what’s gonna happen. manslaughter would be more like, you punch someone, they fall and hit their head on something at just the right angle that it kills them, or something.
i could of course be completely talking out my ass here…
belledame222
23 Aug 08 at 10:06 pm
Manslaughter.
Riiiight…
z
23 Aug 08 at 11:21 pm
[...] ETA: Lisa has also posted about this over at Questioning Transphobia (link here). [...]
Because we’re disposable « bird of paradox
24 Aug 08 at 12:13 am
Wow, I read the article on Erika Keel, this is just… unbelievable. Four times, and it’s an accident ?
There was also the case of Gilberta Salce in Portugal where she had been hit, raped, dropped into a well and left here until she drown. It wasn’t a murder : the murderer was the water.
This is really a sick world :(
Elly Rouge
24 Aug 08 at 7:42 am
Scary thing is, I almost moved to Philly (well, the Philly area).
Mind you, this area of MI probably isn’t any better, but still…
drakyn
25 Aug 08 at 10:54 pm
Well, being white you’d be a hell of a lot safer.
But if something did happen? Ouch.
Lisa Harney
25 Aug 08 at 10:57 pm
[...] Of course such a sentencing would be absolute bullshit regardless of whether or not it was true, because finding out that a person has a sex organ you don’t like is never an excuse for murder, and murder it still is. But the fact is that Oates’ defense doesn’t wash at all. It’s simply not true. This was not a case of him panicking. As Lisa Harney says: [...]
“Trans Panic” Defense Devalues Another Woman’s Life : The Curvature
26 Aug 08 at 3:16 pm
[...] into thinking you were a woman (whether or not the story is true). No one will let someone off with voluntary manslaughter for using that story to excuse killing [...]
Unclear on the Concept: You Cannot Renounce Cis Privilege « Questioning Transphobia
17 Sep 08 at 12:00 am
[...] Because we’re *still* disposable October 13, 2008 In August, when I wrote about the trial of Alexis King’s killer, the Philadelphia Gay News reported that he had been acquitted of murder charges but found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. [...]
Because we’re *still* disposable « bird of paradox
13 Oct 08 at 9:17 am
[...] shooting her with a rifle, he didn’t actually intend to kill her. And I’m reminded of Alexis King’s murder and how her murder was, also, judged to be [...]
Hate Crime Legislation and Teish Green’s Murder « Questioning Transphobia
19 Jul 09 at 10:25 pm
[...] rage. Even when she’s been strangled after having slept with him for months, or when she’s been shot in the back. And then they walk free to kill [...]
Disclosure, Trans Panic, and Ciscentric Narratives of Honesty at Questioning Transphobia
23 Jul 10 at 5:17 pm