Remember, that is just one side, the prosecution's. Their job is to paint the defendant in the worst possible light. He is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
But I'm not bound by the rules of evidence, so I have access to some facts that the Jury will not. That the accused is a member of a homophobic gang, who in his brief time in custody, has already been part of three vicious assaults. He is a multiple felon, guilty of similar robberies when the victim was absent. That he confessed to the crime on tape, but did so after expressing a desire not to continue to talk, so that evidence was suppressed. Also suppressed, some unsavoury pictures taken by him on Angie's phone after her death, showing his state of sexual arousal in her car.
According to the (now suppressed) confession, the victim performed oral sex on him the previous day, but remained dressed and they slept in separate rooms.
While the victim was away, the next day, the accused found several photos that made him suspicious. When the victim returned, he deliberately sought confirmation of his suspicions by sexually assaulting her - grabbing her crotch. He then battered her into immobility when his suspicions had been confirmed. He covered the body with a blanket.
He then went about robbing the apartment, and calmly cleaning up evidence of his presence. When the critically injured victim "started to sit up and gurgle", he then took a fire extinguisher to deliberately finish her off with repeated blows to the head. Her referred to the victim as "it" in his confession.
He then continued to take everything of value, and then as the victim was not able to prevent it, being deceased, took her car in a felony auto theft.
We only have the accused's word for any of that of course.
Contradicting that is extensive evidence that Angie was open about her status, and told everybody about it. And the forensic evidence showing no evidence of sexual activity.
Similar cases in the past have either resulted in a deadlocked jury (Gwen Araujo murder) or acquittal (Kellie Telesford murder). This time... we might be lucky.
Or we might not, as the following comments on a CNN story about the murder show.
Quote:It's not enough that the killer go free: the victim's family must pay compensation, and the victim "charged posthumously". They didn't even ask for that when Blacks were lynched in the 1920's.
Jackie April 17th, 2009 11:34 am ET
This is a sex crime committed by a transgender …they shoiuld be held to sex crimes just like rapist or pediphiles its not a hate crime its a sex crime.
Jackie
NJ
Quote:
D in Chicago April 17th, 2009 11:39 am ET
Send him for anger treatment only. She “he” deceived this man into having sex with another man, and he subsequently couldn’t get over it and was filled with humiliation and rage.
Quote:
D.Ysasi April 17th, 2009 11:40 am ET
This man reacted to the situation Zapata put him in, I do not believe he intended to kill this man/woman. My prayers are with the victim and her/his family, although I also believe Mr. Andrade was and is a victim himself………..Good Luck Mr. Andrade!!!
Quote:
Tom April 17th, 2009 12:06 pm ET
This is the worst kind of deceit. I think the real crime here is the fact that this poor guy has to suffer with knowing he was intimate with another male. He was the REAL victim. What did this he/she think was going to happen? All this political correctness is sickening. He should be sentenced to a lighter sentence and the dead guys family should have to pay for his counseling for the rest of his life.
Quote:
Caleb April 17th, 2009 12:09 pm ET
I feel for the accused..I’d vote not guilty on all charges..that thing was asking for it. HE got what HE deserved for pretending to be a girl. Whats up with this site calling him her???
Quote:
ed April 17th, 2009 12:09 pm ET
the defendant beat justin to death he didnt shoot or stab him. i would have done the same thing we need laws to prevent gays from doing this to people. society thinks homosexualty is ok that dont make it not a sin. approval is a JUDGEMENT as well as saying its wrong and sick.
Quote:
Jeffery Rogers April 17th, 2009 2:13 pm ET
re-criminalize these deviants, have them register as sexual deviant persons, rescind the gay rights laws and put morality back into a well ordered society. By the way any crime against persons has an element of hate so hate crime laws are bogus.
Quote:
Lord Is My Shepard April 17th, 2009 2:22 pm ET
The Lord Works in mysterious ways.
Quote:
Mark April 17th, 2009 2:37 pm ET
How can you not tell that this a man? To me he just exterminated one more peice of human garbage, and for someone to lie about their sex and have sexual relations with you IS rape! I really dont care who this offends because, homosexual behavior in general should be outlawed.
Quote:
mike April 17th, 2009 3:34 pm ET
By deceiving Allen, Angie raped him. The reason why rape is so heinous is because of the mental scarring and emotional pain that it causes the victim. In a rape case the rapist is similar to a hunter, in a transgender case the rapist is a trapper, either way the prey ends up being damaged.
If he/she knew that Allen was straight then imo that should be a crime. Although murder is wrong no matter what, a rapist being killed isnt as bad as an innocent person.
Quote:
Josh April 17th, 2009 3:44 pm ET
If the defendant was lied to by the victim then i completely support the defendant and feel no remorse for the victim at all and belive the defendant should be set free. On the other hand if he was aware of it actually being a male then it is a hate crime and he shoudl be punished accordingly.
Quote:
Brian April 17th, 2009 3:47 pm ET
Shouldn’t Justin be posthumously charged with a hate crime too? I think so.
While most of the commenters were supportive of the victim to a greater or lesser extent, there were far too many comments like this for them to be dismissed as a "lunatic fringe". And some of the "support" was lukewarm at best:
Quote:
isa April 17th, 2009 1:56 pm ET
I feel sorry for the defendatnt. I don’t think this was a hate crime. I hope he isn’t convicted of murder. All of this could have been avoided had Angie told the truth on the dating site to begin with. This is why you shouldn’t meet people on the computer. No I have nothing against sexual orientation some of my best friends are gay.
Quote:
Charisse April 17th, 2009 1:38 pm ET
Killing the guy/girl was wrong. Hate crime? I don’t think so, but i do think that these transgenders need to really consider telling the truth up front point blank period. Give the other person the option to go ahead with the situation or not. I can understand the rage, he was violated. Why do we have to have these bleeding hearts becuase gays and transgenders are so ridiculed? Oh well this is the life they CHOSE!
Quote:
Pedro April 17th, 2009 12:25 pm ET
Andrade was RAPED by Zapata. The transgendered should be punished, by law, for not informing their potential intimate partners before they are intimate. The laws should be changed to reflect this.
I in no way condone murder and Andrade should be punished, but this is no way a hate crime.
If HE (Zapata) would have informed Andrade, before they were intimate, then HE (Zapata) would most likely still be alive because Andrade would have made an informed decision.
Quote:
cea April 17th, 2009 10:40 am ET
Justifiable homicide…….Tricking someone into a homosexual act is just wrong. Probably shouldn’t have killed Him, but that would definitely skew your reasoning for quite a while.
Quote:
Michael Link April 17th, 2009 11:04 am ET
If it can be proven that Justin intentionally hid his sexual identity from Allen, then it is should be involuntary manslaughter.
Quote:
Jason April 17th, 2009 11:36 am ET
I am a 39 year old gay man. I have lived openly since I was 17 years old. I am always baffled as to why transgendered people can’t be honest. I do not think that Allen should be charged with a hate crime. I can understand if she deceived him. Doesn’t condone the fact that he killed Angie. I do believe that he should be found guilty of manslaughter. I hope this is an eye opener to all transgenders to always be open and upfront with anyone they plan on being intimate with.
Jason
Quote:
David April 17th, 2009 12:04 pm ET
Wow, If it was a surprise you cant put the guy away for 1st degree. I cant say I wouldnt seriously harm someone in that situation.
Quote:
bob April 17th, 2009 3:14 pm ET
2nd degree murder is what this guy committed.
When I was younger a gay man tried to feel me up, and it was absolutely justified when I hospitalized him in self defense.
Quote:
Jose B April 17th, 2009 3:36 pm ET
It lied to him. Yes, he over reacted and killed it which he shouldn’t have, however if JP didn’t lie to him, they wouldn’t have met to begin with. This is not a hate crime but a crime. People need to start being more honest with themselves as well as with others. Sad that this happened though but if that happened to me and I found she was an it, I’d be pretty pissed/embrassed and in rage as well. I would have felt semi-raped =\
I knew that this was the size of the mountain when I started digging with my teaspoon. I don't think many of my readers comprehended the magnitude of the problem though before now. Consider this Exhibit A, in the trial of America. Charged with Transphobia in the First Degree.
15 comments:
The prejudice and discrimination are so pervasive...
The internet is the best tool we have to educate and advocate...
Keep up the good work, Zoe!
There is this delusion that one quick touch of a pre-op transwoman's crotch will confirm the sex for the crotch-grabber. Should the ignorant posters be educated, or should prosecutors?
well...
if anyone was thinking we didnt have a looonngggg way to go ...
jeeze, where do people learn to be so 'intolerant'?
Julie
http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4325146
Help needed!
What a tragedy.
Though there is no evidence that's been presented that Angie did not tell him her gender status before they went out. And though there is no guarantee disclosing one's preop status precludes an attack anyhow. Still, this case once again illustrates the cardinal rules:
1. Preops should always disclose there gender status prior to meeting a straight male.
2. This disclosure should never be in person.
3. Even after the disclosure, hours and hours of online or phone chats after the disclosure should take place before the meeting the perspective date.
4. Meet in a public place and never allow the man to pick you up or bring them to your apartment/home until one is as certain as can be they are OK with the issue.
5. Don't date scuzball exgang members and lowlifes.
Any preop who doesn't follow these rules is asking for trouble. These guidelines should be repeated to preops by the activists constantly. A preop may be female to other preops and the transgender crowd in general...but to the mainstream, one is still a man until after GRS. And even then, one who doesn't pass has no guarantee.
(And don't even try to go to the "you're blaming the victim" route with me.)
Boy, these websites bring out the HOMOPHOBES!!! Nobody deserves to die because of who they are. This sick defendant could have just left once he found out. He didn't have to commit this haneous crime against Angie. Be careful people, what comes around goes around. I hope all of these haters get theirs. And eventually, you will for judging! I hope Allen Andrade ROTS in HELL!
Sa-et, you're doing nothing more than blaming the victim...
Wait...you said not to go there?
They gave Rodney King the same advice after he got his brains beat in by the LA cops back in the day.
Rodney, they said, stop sticking your head up in the path of the those swinging police clubs! You're liable to cause one of them to throw his back out by continually sticking your head in their way! Those dumb n******s, won't they ever learn?!
Agh, don't even go there with me.
Nica,
There is a difference between blaming the victim and saying that perhaps there were smarter things the victim could have done. I do not think that Sa-et was blaming the victim, but giving advice to help others avoid beocming victims.
Consider the case of Sally, who decided to walk down a dark alley naked holding a bag of gold in each hand. She gets raped and has her bags of gold stolen. The perpetrator was a man named David, who was the next day arrested by the police.
Now, rightly. David was convicted of rape, abduction, and theft, and given the full possible punishments. Justice was served for Sally and all involved recognized that Sally was not at all responsible for David's action.
Now, would it be blaming the victim to try to explain to Sally that perhaps walking down a dark alley naked with a bag of gold in each is probably not the smartest thing in the world to do?
It really is sad that the human race is so ignorant that they have to portray us as villains because of there own insecurities.
In this case Dr. Alfred Kinsey studies show that approx. 10% of the population is heterosexual and 10% is homosexual while the other 80% falls somewhere in between. Being that most humans have not come to terms with their own self they criticize anyone that doesn’t conform to the sexual norms of society.
In this case society is jumping on board Andrade’s justification that Angie had mislead him by not telling him she was transsexual.
In my case I went to the corner store to get bread and milk and ended up in the trauma center 5 hours later dying from a subdural hematoma on the left hemisphere of my brain along with numerous other injuries.
I guess I should have told everyone I was transsexual, but I really don’t think that would have made a difference. Do you?
With many teaspoons we will move that mountain. Thanks Zoe for all you do!
I was happy to find through Google that there is some support from the community where the trial is taking place. I couldn't help thinking tho about the scale of the reaction to Rodney King's beating, or even the reaction to the passage of Prop 8 in Cali recently, as compared to the reaction to the brutal murder of one of our own. I think more should be done to show our outrage and support of the family and solidarity as a community. Admonitions from elders only bring to mind the pastors who were used by the white establishment to control the population leading up to the beginning of the civil rights movement. Stand up! Speak out! Even though they set dogs upon you and knock you down with firehoses! We shall overcome!
I don't know what to say, I am so shocked... I am not transgendered, so I can't pretend to know what transgendered people have to face in society. In terms of gender and sexuality, I am what "society" deems as "normal" (as opposed to..?), but I am sick to my stomach to be acknowledged by the common hateful morons, who had it all oh so easy, who think it is in absolutely any case justified to attack another person for being different than them, as their own.
I am deeply sorry for the horrible death of this girl. I am sorry for what anyone has to suffer because of "society's" homophobia, racism, intolerance and ignorance.
I loathe and pity the individuals who not only found this murder "acceptable" (an acceptable murder, listen to yourselves, damn it!), but they kept calling the victim a He, or even worse, an it, unable to respect her memory, her family or any transgendered person at all.
Sorry for the rant. I hadn't heard of this case, and I am shocked to tears. And yes, you might say I feel guilty on the behalf of those unaffected by this jungle's intolerance. I hope the murderer gets to pay in an exemplar way, and I wish you all well. Please be careful.
Thanks, Anonymous.
I do have a request of you. Tell your friends. Make others aware of the situation. Most of my work is in trying to convince people of goodwill that there is a genuine problem. Most don't believe it, it's so far outside their experience, so incredible, unbelievable.
The more people are aware of the situation, the more they see the evidence rather than someone just telling them stuff, the better.
Id be guessing the perp thought his victim would be less likely to go to the police because she was transgender.
If it had stopped at assault I wonder if she would have pressed charges sucessfuly for it, or if he would have run the same defence?
Unless there is direct evidence she hid her status from this bloke, then her life shouldnt be part of the defence.
That in no way implies I think she should have been beaten or murdered for her mistake in having anything to dowith this thug.
Who ever said "The Lord works in mysterious ways" needs help.
Satan took over in this situation. Murder is never ok, only in self defense. Humiliation and homophobia are NOT defenses to MURDER.
"I do have a request of you. Tell your friends. Make others aware of the situation."
Zoe, that's a promise.
Post a Comment