Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald Accepts Plea Agreement to Reduced Manslaughter Charge

[Shana A]

Posted by Support CeCe!

May 2, 2012

Chrishaun "CeCe" McDonald Accepts Plea Agreement to Reduced Manslaughter Charge
Racism, Transphobia in Legal System Continued Assault McDonald Survived, Supporters Charge

http://supportcece.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/chrishaun-cece-mcdonald-accepts-plea-agreement-to-reduced-manslaughter-charge/

Minneapolis, MN – Earlier today, Ms. Chrishaun "CeCe" McDonald accepted a plea agreement to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the second degree in the criminal case resulting from the racist, transphobic assault she survived last June that left one of her attackers dead. The prosecution had originally charged her with felony murder in the second degree. However, after entering into plea negotiations this morning, the defense and the prosecution settled on the reduced charge. McDonald will be sentenced on June 4th at 1:30pm under Hennepin County Judge Daniel Moreno to 41 months in prison. The executed sentence will be reduced by one third, for "good time" and credit for the time McDonald has served pending this resolution.

The plea agreement comes nearly a year after McDonald was arrested, interrogated, denied adequate medical care for a laceration she suffered during the attack and held in solitary confinement for a month for being a transgender person. During the pre-trial proceedings, supporters raised world-wide support for the charges against McDonald to be dropped. Last month, supporters delivered to Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman a petition for dropping the charges with over 15,000 signatures and dozens of letters of support for McDonald from organizations and prominent individuals from around the globe.

[Amazon D]

That means she should be out in a year .. not the best but better than the previous time she was facing

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

Just shows that racism, homo/transphobia  is alive and well in the American Un-justice system.

[Jamie D]

Just shows that racism, homo/transphobia  is alive and well in the American Un-justice system.

I don't think that can be concluded from Cece's plea bargain.  After all, she admits she committed a crime.  The injustice comes from the fact none of those who assaulted her have been charged with a crime.

[~RoadToTrista~]

It should have been self-defense, she even said that she ran away and while the guy was chasing her she took out a pair of scissors and he ran into them. The fact that nothing happened to that woman who hit her with some glass mug or whatever first is outrageous.

[Blazey]

I don't think that can be concluded from Cece's plea bargain.  After all, she admits she committed a crime.  The injustice comes from the fact none of those who assaulted her have been charged with a crime.

I dunno.  When the system pushes someone so hard against a wall when they never should have been charged in the first place that they feel their only way out is to plee guilty.  Then after doing so they sentence her for far longer then she should have been while treating her like utter garbage.  So they send her into a horrid system that will be mentally scarring that also shoots her education in the face with a shotgun.  Thus taking a good tax paying member of society out while leaving the garbage members who did wrong in.

The system did indeed fail on all accounts.

[Jamie D]

I dunno.  When the system pushes someone so hard against a wall when they never should have been charged in the first place that they feel their only way out is to plea guilty.  Then after doing so they sentence her for far longer then she should have been while treating her like utter garbage.  So they send her into a horrid system that will be mentally scarring that also shoots her education in the face with a shotgun.  Thus taking a good tax paying member of society out while leaving the garbage members who did wrong in.

The system did indeed fail on all accounts.

I don't think they could have gotten a conviction.

Let's hope the Governor will pardon or commute the sentence.