First openly transgender woman set to be executed in the U.S. asks for mercy

[ZombieMumEB]

"The first openly transgender woman set to be executed in the U.S. is asking Missouri’s governor for mercy, citing mental health issues.

Lawyers for Amber McLaughlin, now 49, on Monday asked Republican Gov. Mike Parson to spare her.

McLaughlin was convicted of killing 45-year-old Beverly Guenther on Nov. 20, 2003. Guenther was raped and stabbed to death in St. Louis County."

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/first-openly-transgender-woman-set-executed-us-asks-mercy-rcna61846

“It is extremely unusual for a woman to commit a capital offense, such as a brutal murder, and even more unusual for a woman to, as was the case with McLaughlin, rape and murder a woman,” Pojmann said.

Could that be because they are male? 🤔They "transitioned" whilst on death row.

Perhaps being trans is the modern version of finding God, in the hope to be spared the death penalty?

Yes to all of this.

It took the Guardian 11 paragraphs before they named, or even referenced the victim, Beverly Guenther. This shouldn’t be happening in any publication.

I would remove entirely "after committing a crime" to read
transitioning shouldn't have any bearing on sentencing, anywhere, ever

Notice at the end they went on to give a little bit about what a nice person he was in prison. Nowhere did they give the same, or any space to what his victim was like, just a body dumped near a river after he had finished raping her and she no longer served any purpose to him.

I am totally against the death penalty in cases. I don't need anyone to sanitise the facts to try and garner my sympathies, and I don't appreciate it when they do. That report demonstrates why these days I wouldn't even trust the Guardian with my horoscope.

Took me a while to find this. Most of the commentors get it, even the pronoun ones. Tbf I avoided pronouns in my previous post because MN still seems a bit skittish about them and I didn't want a deletion.

twitter.com/guardian/status/1610270858097868800?s=20&t=dr_Rl_zBNx60UJNI_Nc41g

God i hate sloppy reporting. Here's my version

man executed for the rape and murder of a woman

Scott McLaughlin 49, was put to death for the murder of Beverly Guenther.

McLaughlin raped and stabbed Guenther, 45, twenty years ago in Earth City, Missouri, before dumping her body in the city of St. Louis.version

he has been executed.

Women aren’t excluded from getting the death penalty. Not quite sure what this bloke is trying to achieve here.

I can only surmise that he was trying to claim as strongly mitigating circumstances the severe mental health issues that made him want to 'transition' to 'be' a woman - the same kind of mental health issues that we are constantly assured (and screamed at) absolutely do not exist in any way as a cause to make somebody want to 'transition'.

I mean, I strongly disagree with the death penalty and oppose it with every part of my being.

However… it’s quite easy for men (who later feel like they are women) to avoid raping and murdering women, and then they wouldn’t have to worry about facing the death penalty in the first place.

It does raise an interesting question - the TWAW train of thought usually insists that the TW has always been a woman, never connected to their male form, never saw that as part of their identity. But if you used that male form to commit a male crime against a woman, how can you say you never identified with it? Very odd.

I too hate sloppy reporting. Thank you for providing this more accurate version.

Agree - who cares what he was like in prison? He’s a rapist and murderer. Being nice and polite doesn’t cancel out who he is.

I can only surmise that he was trying to claim as strongly mitigating circumstances the severe mental health issues that made him want to 'transition' to 'be' a woman - the same kind of mental health issues that we are constantly assured (and screamed at) absolutely do not exist in any way as a cause to make somebody want to 'transition'.

Quite. Which is it?
A mental health issue,
or,
an ordinary, natural state of mind just like any ordinary person’s?

Sorry, that was answering
WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · Today 11:58

The UK was quite keen on hanging women until the abolition of capital punishment. And while that may (or may not) seem far removed from this spat, it's worth noting the calls for mercy that Ruth Ellis received, when compared to (say) Styllou Christofi

Well the comments are really clear. People don’t accept this type of reporting.

Funny enough, the Texas gay nightclub shooter claims to be non-binary but the news reporting has either stopped or reporters/editors employ painfully awkward and/or obvious writing to avoid any use of pronouns. Like we do on MN.

and more sloppy reporting. In fact completely incorrect!!!!!

The execution represents the first time a woman yet another example of a man being punished for raping and murdering a woman.has been put to death in Missouri since 1953, when the federal government executed Bonnie Brown Heady for kidnapping and murdering a child.

Beverly Guenther, an actual woman, was raped and murdered by a man. That MAN has now been executed.

That's the news. That's the facts. How dare they put Beverly as a footnote in her own rape and murder and then pass the perpetrator of those crimes off as a woman.

HOW DARE THEY.

McLaughlin also stalked her for a long time, despite a restraining order. I read that sometimes the police had to take her home from work and once McLaughlin hid in the building where she worked. Her life must have been pure hell for quite a while, and the end of that life certainly was. May those who loved her find peace.

'after being stalked and terrified, requiring a restraining order'.

And they wonder why women are scared of men

We aren't scared of women

Well

We never used to be

If the crime committed involves a penis, then it was committed by a man. Any other description is just gaslighting victims and families.

I would love to completely reject the death penalty, the thoughts of oft make me feel physically sick. However, if someone harmed either of my children, I'm pretty sure I'd end up in jail for seeking my own justice. I just can't imagine living a normal life after something like that.

I've read a number of newspaper reports on this killer and am disgusted at the reporting.

The reporting is sympathetic to this man because he is claiming to be trans. As I understand he has raped a teenage girl and murdered an adult women.

Journalists are going out of their way to support him, and it just shows how out of touch they are if they believe that supporting a rapist and killer makes them look progressive in regards to trans rights.

If I was trans I would be so insulted at this killer being used as a figurehead for trans rights.

@ReunitedThorns it's disgusting isn't it. It's why I've been posting my. Updated versions. It's just so Fucking wrong. How can they not see he was just doing it in order to exert the only power he had left to him. To make it about him and not poor (ooh a chance to update and post the truth in good again) Beverly.

Beverly Guenther, a lovely woman who was just trying to get on with her life was stalked, which left her terrified. Despite getting a restraining order against Scott McLaughlin and the police on occasion escorting her home Scott managed to isolate Beverly and then he raped and murdered her .

That MAN Scott McLaughlin stalker, rapist, and murderer, has now been executed.