DeLee: Guilty

Dwight DeLee has been convicted of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime in the killing of Lateisha Green, who was a trans woman. This is only the second hate crime conviction in a homicide case in the nation, the first being the conviction of Angie Zapata's murderer, Allen Andrade.

Shaker Lena emails, which I am quoting with her permission:

I'm puzzled how the jury found that it was a hate crime, but yet only decided on a manslaughter verdict — particularly when the defendant called her a "faggot," then went to get a rifle and returned to do the shooting. But hey, she was just a trans woman, it's not like any real person was killed...

There could be reasonable doubt that DeLee fired into the car not intending to actually kill anyone. (I.e. he only intended to hurt someone, but ending up killing someone, which falls under manslaughter.) But still.

Sadly, prosecutors had to refer to Green as a man and use her male birth name, because NY hate crimes law only covers sexual orientation, not gender identity or expression. This Feministe post has some good observation on how the prosecution's approach itself plays into transphobia. If anything, the defense seems to have presented a more ethical case -- arguing that there was reasonable doubt that DeLee was the shooter, and that he didn't know anything about Green's "sexual orientation." Apparently they didn't opt for a transpanic defense, which would've been a stretch anyway, but that hasn't stopped defense attorneys from successfully using it or the gay panic defense in equally improbably circumstances.

There is comprehensive coverage of the case starting here.