‘I AM SORRY’

First Openly Transgender American Executed for 2003 Murder in Missouri

In a clemency appeal, Amber McLaughlin’s lawyers noted her traumatic childhood and extensive mental health issues, problems that the jury never heard about at trial.

Amber McLaughlin was executed in Missouri on Tuesday in what is believed to be the first case of an openly transgender person being put to death in the United States, according to the Associated Press. McLaughlin, 49, was sentenced to death in 2003 after being convicted of fatally stabbing her former girlfriend, Beverly Guenther. “I am sorry for what I did,” McLaughlin said in a final statement. “I am a loving and caring person.” In an application for clemency sent to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, McLaughlin’s counsel described the abuse and neglect she suffered during her traumatic childhood, which left her with brain damage and borderline intellectual disability, as well as a myriad of mental health issues that the jury never heard about during her trial. Despite that, the jury deadlocked on a decision, and a judge was able to independently impose a death sentence under state law. In 2016, a federal district court judge threw out McLaughlin’s sentence, but the decision was subsequently overturned by an appeals court. Parson declined to halt the execution on Tuesday, calling McLaughlin “a violent criminal” in a statement.