Death & the Maiden

Filed By Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 02, 2012 3:00 PM

http://www.bilerico.com/2012/05/death_and_the_maiden.php

But she who had vowed not to become a victim was made into a victim -- a victim of a prosecutorial system that charged her with murder and a court system that ruled against her so harshly that she took a plea deal rather than face 40 years in jail. I am outraged.

The murder trial of CeCe McDonald, a trans woman of color, began this week, and ended this week, when she pled guilty to second degree manslaughter today, according to a member of her support team. She will reportedly face 41 months in prison at her sentencing hearing next month. Many defendants are pressured into plea deals when facing hyper-aggressive charges. In this case, Ms. McDonald faced 40 years in prison under Minnesota's second degree murder charge. The judge's rulings against her on the evidence were also likely determining factors in her decision. These would have allowed in the gruesomely bloody shirt of the victim, but not his swastika tattoo, her own bad check conviction, but not the theft convictions of the witnesses against her. She also would have had to face the likely transphobia of the jury. Did you know that it is still legal in Minnesota to exclude people from a jury because they're gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender?