Syracuse Trial Spotlights Violence Against Transwomen of Color

by Michael Jones · 2009-07-15 06:59:00 UTC
Topics:

Lateisha Green

This week, LGBT legal eyes are turned toward Syracuse, New York, where one man is facing murder charges and hate crime charges for killing Lateisha Green, a 22-year transwoman of color. The details of Green's murder are certainly unique to her case, but spotlight a growing trend of violence against transwomen of color.  From Memphis, Tennessee to Greeley, Colorado and now to Syracuse, New York, transwomen of color are paying a huge price when it comes to the issue of hate crimes against the LGBT population.

Here's some background on the case of Lateisha Green, from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF):

On November 14, 2008, Lateisha "Teish" Green was shot and killed outside a house party in Syracuse, New York.  The accused shooter, Dwight R. DeLee, was allegedly motivated by anti-LGBT bias and his belief that Lateisha was gay.

Hate crimes charges have been brought against Lee, because (thankfully) New York is one of the states that has hate crimes laws on the books that include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity (CORRECTION: Thanks to commenter Abigail Jensen, who points out that New York does not have hate crimes protections based on gender identity.  The reason hate crimes charges are being brought in this case is because the threatening language that DeLee allegedly used dealt with sexual orientation, not gender identity.).

Which is something our federal government does not have.  At least not yet.  Word has it that a vote on the Matthew Shepard Act could come as early as this week in the U.S. Senate (note Senator Harry Reid's press conference yesterday with Judy Shepard, pushing for passage of more inclusive hate crimes laws).

Lateisha Green's murder is yet another tragic instance that sheds light on the uptick in violence toward transwomen of color.  A Facebook page, Justice for Teish Green, has been formed to bring together online activists and friends of the victim to push for adequate hate crimes laws and justice in this case.  As the organizers of the Facebook page write:

Far too many young transwomen of color have been murdered in the past 10 years, often with no arrests or a low conviction rate. This injustice cannot be allowed to continue!

They're exactly right.  Paula Johnson, a Syracuse Law Professor who is an expert in racially-motivated crimes, said that Lateisha's case demonstrates gaping holes in our justice system. It falls on all of our shoulders to correct these gaps:

Here the matter is sexual orientation or transgender identity. It's all about human dignity.  It's really about the significance of the person, that we have to respect that, that we have to honor that, that we have to ensure that all our systems of justice do something about that. As I said, attention must be paid and we must pay attention.

You can follow much more about the Lateisha Green case here, or you can follow the tweets of GLAAD and TLDEF, who have staff members in Syracuse, New York covering the trial.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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