America’s first openly transgender inmate facing execution is making a last-ditch attempt to stave off her lethal injection, pleading with Missouri Governor Mike Parson for a pardon. She was convicted in 2006 of murdering an ex-girlfriend, and began to transition while in prison, according to NBC News. If Parson doesn’t grant her clemency, the 49 year-old will be the first openly transgender woman to die from the death penalty in the United States, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, an organization which opposes capital punishment. McLaughin’s clemency request includes mentions of her childhood trauma and mental health issues, both of which the jury wasn’t aware of during the trial. In addition, there are no pending court appeals, according to her lawyer Larry Komp. Jessica Hicklin, a 43-year-old friend and mentor to McLaughlin who won her own lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections over a hormone therapy ban, said McLaughlin is “definitely a vulnerable person” and is “definitely afraid of being assaulted or victimized, which is more common for trans folks in the Department of Corrections.”