Hate crime follows hate speech
Hate crimes legislation By Sam Cooper for Boston Globe opinion.
Last August, Estanislao Martinez was found wandering naked near his home in Fresno, Ca. He was covered in blood.
Earlier in the evening he had met 29-year-old Joel Robles, a transgender man, on a blind date. At the time, Martinez was unaware that Robles was actually a man. The two had a few drinks together, left the bar, and headed towards Martinez's home. There, during an intimate moment, Martinez discovered Robles' gender. He flew into a rage, stabbing him 20 times in the chest with a pair of scissors. Martinez was sentenced on Oct. 1st, to a total of 4 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, 3 years for the murder, and one year for using scissors as the murder weapon. He will be eligible for parole for good behavior in less than 3 years.
The incredibly short sentence was the result of an increasingly popular defense know as 'gay panic', or 'trans panic'. Martinez claimed, that upon discovering Robles' deception, he was overcome with a barrage of uncontrollable emotions, and near insanity. Unlike other cases where the comparable defense of temporary 'insanity' has been used, a psychological evaluation was not done on Martinez to substantiate his claim.
Victoria Steinberg described the defense in the Boston Third World Law Journal: 'Trans panic' is a variant of the 'gay panic' strategy, with the defendant claiming, "his violent acts were triggered by the revelation that another person, sometimes with whom he has been sexually involved, is transgendered," she explained.
A similar defense is currently being used in another murder case in San Francisco, where two men beat a transgender man to death with a skillet, then buried his body in the El Dorado national forest.
These cases, along with a handful of others, have caused outrage across America. Homophobia has reared its ugly head yet again, this time in the American judicial system. Cases such as these have left many people, such as Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, calling for national hate crime legislation. Stiffer penalties for hate crimes against homosexuals would serve to reinforce the American ideal of equality, much like government support for civil rights did during the 50's and 60's.
Increased penalties for hate crimes against homosexuals would also help to level the playing field in a judicial system that still smacks of sectarianism. Many Americans have yet to realize that equality means everyone, including homosexuals. If we allow rulings such as the one in the Martinez case to go unchallenged, we undermine our own moral foundation.
Are the lives of transgender and homosexual people worth less than the lives of heterosexuals? That's the message being sent by the acceptance of the 'gay panic' defense. Murder is murder, a courts lack of empathy towards a transgender or homosexual victim is the result of homophobia and prejudice, pure and simple.
Hate crimes legislation may not serve to protect the gay community directly, but at the least it would help to counter balance the bias and disregard shown towards them in the judicial system. I dislike the idea of creating different categories for individuals in our courts. But, when faced with glaring inequality under the law, something must be done to combat the message that the lives and rights of some Americans are worth more than those of others.
Last August, Estanislao Martinez was found wandering naked near his home in Fresno, Ca. He was covered in blood.
Earlier in the evening he had met 29-year-old Joel Robles, a transgender man, on a blind date. At the time, Martinez was unaware that Robles was actually a man. The two had a few drinks together, left the bar, and headed towards Martinez's home. There, during an intimate moment, Martinez discovered Robles' gender. He flew into a rage, stabbing him 20 times in the chest with a pair of scissors. Martinez was sentenced on Oct. 1st, to a total of 4 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, 3 years for the murder, and one year for using scissors as the murder weapon. He will be eligible for parole for good behavior in less than 3 years.
The incredibly short sentence was the result of an increasingly popular defense know as 'gay panic', or 'trans panic'. Martinez claimed, that upon discovering Robles' deception, he was overcome with a barrage of uncontrollable emotions, and near insanity. Unlike other cases where the comparable defense of temporary 'insanity' has been used, a psychological evaluation was not done on Martinez to substantiate his claim.
Victoria Steinberg described the defense in the Boston Third World Law Journal: 'Trans panic' is a variant of the 'gay panic' strategy, with the defendant claiming, "his violent acts were triggered by the revelation that another person, sometimes with whom he has been sexually involved, is transgendered," she explained.
A similar defense is currently being used in another murder case in San Francisco, where two men beat a transgender man to death with a skillet, then buried his body in the El Dorado national forest.
These cases, along with a handful of others, have caused outrage across America. Homophobia has reared its ugly head yet again, this time in the American judicial system. Cases such as these have left many people, such as Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, calling for national hate crime legislation. Stiffer penalties for hate crimes against homosexuals would serve to reinforce the American ideal of equality, much like government support for civil rights did during the 50's and 60's.
Increased penalties for hate crimes against homosexuals would also help to level the playing field in a judicial system that still smacks of sectarianism. Many Americans have yet to realize that equality means everyone, including homosexuals. If we allow rulings such as the one in the Martinez case to go unchallenged, we undermine our own moral foundation.
Are the lives of transgender and homosexual people worth less than the lives of heterosexuals? That's the message being sent by the acceptance of the 'gay panic' defense. Murder is murder, a courts lack of empathy towards a transgender or homosexual victim is the result of homophobia and prejudice, pure and simple.
Hate crimes legislation may not serve to protect the gay community directly, but at the least it would help to counter balance the bias and disregard shown towards them in the judicial system. I dislike the idea of creating different categories for individuals in our courts. But, when faced with glaring inequality under the law, something must be done to combat the message that the lives and rights of some Americans are worth more than those of others.
posted by professor rat at 9:08 PM
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