Transmissions: A transgender tragedy
Published 05/17/2012
by Gwendolyn Ann Smith
http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=67724 (http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=67724)
McDonald was then taken into custody, and placed in solitary confinement "for her protection." She was later moved to the male psychiatric unit. Then, nearly a year later, she was placed on trial for Schmitz's murder.
I think it is important to note that, at the same time McDonald was going to trial, the news media was covering the Trayvon Martin murder. Martin was a 17-year-old African American youth who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a half-Hispanic, half-Caucasian 28-year-old. Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, and has thus far been shielded by Florida's Stand Your Ground law.
Zimmerman, who has since been charged with Martin's death, was originally let go by police, and not charged. The case opened a national dialogue on race, on gun violence, and even on the wearing of hoodies. While there are scores of differences, I suspect you can easily see why these two cases compare.
Unlike Florida, Minnesota does not have a Stand Your Ground law, but one could just as easily assume that McDonald was doing just that. She was attacked, she defended, and a melee broke out. She was injured, and one of her attackers ended up dead.