Banning the "Trans Panic Defense"

[Natasha]

Banning the "Trans Panic Defense"

http://www.bilerico.com/2008/09/banning_the_trans_panic_defense.php
9/23/2008


he gay panic defense, and its cousin, the transgender panic defense, have been criticized by many, and yet it still survives to rear its ugly head again and again. Cases in which these defenses are raised become high profile, with prominent examples such as the murders of Matthew Shepard, Brandon Teena, and Gwen Araujo. In fact, there have been a couple of legal conferences on the issue of gay panic and trans panic defenses in the past several years, in which prosecutors have sought to learn how to defeat it.