Missouri has conducted the first execution of a transgender woman in the U.S. The AP notes that Missouri inmate Amber McLaughlin was put to death for a 2003 murder.
McLaughlin was convicted of stalking and killing a former girlfriend and then dumping her body in a portion of the Mississippi River that runs through St. Louis.
Before her execution, McLaughlin offered a final written statement: “I am sorry for what I did. I am a loving and caring person.”
McLaughlin spoke with a spiritual advisor before her lethal injection, took a few deep breaths, and passed away.
Since the mid-1970s, the anti-execution Death Penalty Information Center stated 1,558 people had been executed. All but 17 were men, and before McLaughlin, there was no record of an openly transgender inmate as an executed person.
McLaughlin was convicted in 2006 and began her transition behind bars. During her time in prison, she also petitioned for clemency, but Gov. Mike Parson denied it.
