Killed and raped as a man, executed as a woman

A transgender prisoner was executed for a 2003 murder in what is believed to be the first death sentence passed on a transgender woman in the United States.

Amber McLaughlin, 49, was found guilty of abusing and killing his ex-girlfriend and then dumping her body near the Mississippi River in St. Louis. At the moment, Amber perceived herself as a man and her name was Scott.

McLaughlin’s fate was sealed Tuesday when Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined his plea for clemency.

McLaugling He was chatting quietly with a spirit guide by his side when he was injected with the lethal dose of pentobarbital. McLauglin took a couple of deep breaths, then closed his eyes. They certified he was dead minutes later.

I regret what I did, McLaughlin said in his latest written statement. I am a loving and kind person.

According to statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes executions, 1,558 people have been subjected to the death penalty since it was reinstated in the mid-1970s.

All but seven cases correspond to men. The center said so there have been no previous cases of the execution of an openly transgender prisoner.

McLaughlin began his transition about three years ago in Potosi State Prison.

The clemency plea had mentioned McLaughlin’s traumatic childhood and mental health issues that the jury never considered during the trial, according to the attorneys.

the hard story

McLaughlin became the first transgender person of either gender to die by capital punishment in the country, and also the first person to be executed in 2023.

Dissatisfied with their separation, McLaughlin had bullied his ex-girlfriend to the point that the woman, by name Beverly Guentherhe had obtained a restraining order.

On the day of the crime, McLaughlin waited for her outside work with a kitchen knife. Guenther was raped and stabbed and her body dumped in the Mississippi River.

In 2006, a jury found her guilty of the murder but could not agree on the sentence. The trial judge intervened and imposed the death penalty, which is permitted in the states of Missouri and Indiana.