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Pardoned Marine Who Killed Trans Woman Deported From Philippines

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton served little more than half his sentence before President Rodrigo Duterte ordered him released.

The Philippines have deported a U.S. Marine who was convicted of murdering a transgender woman and then pardoned by President Rodrigo Duterte for supposedly good behavior behind bars. Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was whisked to the airport under secrecy for a flight back to the U.S. and forbidden from ever returning. Pemberton was convicted of killing Jennifer Laude in a hotel room after discovering she was transgender; she was strangled, and her head was rammed into a toilet. His release sparked widespread condemnation by LGBTQ activists and reignited accusations that American service members get special treatment in the Philippines.