Timeline June 5, 2011 In Minneapolis, Chrishaun "Cece" McDonald and her friends walked to get groceries, and on their way, they are harassed by Dean Schmitz and his friends (Pasulka, 2012). Fight broke out when Schmitz ex-girlfriend, Molly Flaherty, hit McDonald in the face with a glass of alcohol (Pasulka,2012). During the fight, McDonald was able to stab Schmitz with her scissors, killing him. McDonald was charged with second-degree intentional murder, that night. She pleaded innocent in count of self-defense. May 2, 2012 McDonald accepted a plea offer of second-degree manslaughter, in which, she has to give up her claim of self-defense. May 11, 2012 Molly Flaherty was charged with second-degree and third degree assault. June 4, 2012 Cece …show more content…
McDonald was sentenced to 41 months in prison but will receive credit for the 275 days she spent in custody (Pasulka,2012). December 2013 Laverne Cox started a Documentary about McDonald called "Free Cece". January 13, 2014 Cece McDonald was released after 19 months in Minnesota Correction Facility but will remain under supervision until her 41-months sentence is complete (Molloy, 2014). Introduction/Background On June 5, 2011, Latavia Taylor had just recently moved into a new apartment in Minneapolis with Chrishaun McDonald and three of their friends came over to celebrate Taylor’s new apartment: Larry Tyaries Thomas "Ty", Zavawn Smith "Zay", and Roneal Harris (Mannix, 2012).
Some just happen to be young, African American transgender woman. They spent the evening barbecuing in the yard and just lounging around (Mannix, 2012). Around midnight, they walked to Cub Foods to pick up some groceries. It just happened to be a little more than a half-mile from the apartment. As they started walking, a squad car stopped and questioned them, without any provocation. After questioning them, the officer followed them for a little while before …show more content…
departing. Moments later, they came to the intersection of 29th Street East and 27th Avenue South. Dean Schmitz and two women, his girlfriend, Jenny Thoreson, and his ex girlfriend, Molly Flaherty, step outside the bar of Schooner, for a cigarette (Mannix, 2012). They happen to have seen the group pass by and started to call them names like, "niggers" and "faggots" (Pasulka, 2012). As the group got closer, Schmitz started to shout out racist and transphobic comments to all of them. It escalated back and forth, and when they tried to walk away, Flaherty smashed a glass of alcohol across McDonald's face, opening her left cheek which later would require 11 stitches, and said she can take all of them, starting the fight between both groups (Mannix, 2012). At some point David Crandell, Flaherty's boyfriend, step out of the bar for a smoke and saw what was happening. He fought with the strangers, trying to pull them off his girlfriend. Schmitz was able to pull McDonald away from Flaherty and getting them two alone. When McDonald was trying to get away, Schmitz followed her. McDonald pulled out her fabric scissors from her purse, hoping to use it for self-defense against the heavy build, 47 year old (Signorile, 2014). Schmitz happened to see the tool but still decided to go after her. McDonald used the scissors to puncture Schmitz in the chest. Upon seeing the blood, everyone stopped fighting. Most of McDonald's friends left the scene and boarded a Metro Transit Bus, while McDonald and Thomas ran towards Cub Foods. When Gary Gilbert, a security guard at Schooner Tavern, walked outside the bar to make a phone call, he heard the sound of glass breaking and saw the incident happening (Mannix, 2012). He was able to call the police and give the description of "black lady with a knife." He then followed her as she fled the scene and told the operator that she appeared to be heading toward Target. Anthony Stoneburg, who happened to be in the neighborhood to visit his aunt, has also been a witness of seeing the gruesome scene. He was able to climb onto Schmitz and tried to plug the wound but was too late (Mannix, 2012). Schmitz died in the ambulance, on his way to the hospital. Cece McDonald and Larry Thomas stayed in the parking lot of Cub Foods, waiting for the police (Erdely, 2014). Despite having little to go on from Gilbert's call, Minneapolis police officers managed to find the suspect, which was not hard to find. Upon seeing the police, McDonald flagged the officers down (Mannix, 2012). She hardly portrait a cold-blooded killer; she was a 23 year old transgender woman studying fashion; she had no previous history of violent crime (Mannix, 2012). Officers immediately arrested her for the death of Dean Schmitz but did not take her immediately to the ambulance to heal her wounds. Criminal Evidence/Criminal Law The murder weapon was not recovered. Witness said she saw McDonald throw it on the ground when running away but no murder weapon was taken to evidence (Pasulka, 2012). However, there was a three-quarter-inch puncture wound in Schmitz chest that ripped more than three inches into his body cavity, all the way to the right ventricle of his heart (Mannix, 2012). When the ambulance came, Schmitz was barely breathing. He died in the ambulance on his way to the hospital. Though no murder weapon was found, it was said that the weapon might have been small like a knife or scissor. Cece McDonald confessed on stabbing Schmitz with her fabric scissors that she uses on school (Pasulka, 2012). As for Cece McDonald wound, it was told that Molly Flaherty hit McDonald in the face with a glass of alcohol that sliced open her left cheek (Erdely, 2014). McDonald had to get 11 stitches for her cut. McDonald said that the pain made it hard to concentrate and the alcohol that was thrown to her eyes, made it hard to see (Pasulka, 2012). McDonald told reporters that, the officers handcuffed her and did not take her immediately to the ambulance for her cut (Mannix, 2012). She was bleeding profusely and the pain was unbearable. She waited 20 minutes until they finally took her to the ambulance. Another piece of evidence, that was analyzed, was Schmitz's toxicology results (Mannix, 2012).
On Schmitz's system, at the time of his death, there was numerous of chemicals shown. The chemicals included; methamphetamine, opiates, and Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. It was told that the amount of levels of the chemicals combined could unleash, unpredictable and unwarranted violence. The most discussed evidence was found on Schmitz's autopsy report. Inches away from his stab wound, he had a four-inch tattoo of a swastika. It symbolized the hatred and violence towards "black" people. The word "Outlaw" was tattooed across his back. Since the age of 18, Schmitz has over 2 dozen criminal records, which included theft, burglary, and attempted sale of a controlled substance. He also had a history of violence; he was convicted of fifth-degree assault and domestic assault. However, his family had a different story. His son, Jeremy Williams, described his father as being a helpful man, a great person. Schmitz's brother, Charles Pelfrey, had different things to say about him, he said he wasn't surprised with the allegations of Schmitz using racist language, but at other times, he said his brother wasn't racist and that in prison, he ended up in a white supremacist group, in order to survive (Pasulka, 2012). In the end, the judge ruled that Schmitz criminal record and background was irrelevant to what happened that day and McDonald was not able to see his tattoo in his
chest, so therefor Schmitz records could not be shown to the jury but his toxicology records can. Since her arrest, McDonald self-defense argument was slowly growing. Many people believed she survived a hate crime (Molloy, 2014). She was arrested with two counts of second-degree intentional murder, which can carry a 25-year sentence, but with all the support the public was giving her, they were not able to charge her. When McDonald refused the plea deal of first-degree manslaughter, prosecutors charged her with second-degree intentional murder (Mannix, 2012). After long months with the trial, McDonald accepted a plea offer of second-degree manslaughter. Accepting the deal, she has to give up her claim that she killed Schmitz in self-defense. She was sentenced with 41 months in prison but only served 19 months in prison because she received credit for 275 days in custody (Pasulka, 2012). Being transgender, there were many discussions about where she would be placed, but they concluded that she would not be sent to a women prison but a men prison or either a solitary confinement. In the end, they placed her in the Minnesota Correctional Facility- St. Cloud, an adult male facility (Pasulka, 2012). What really happened that night, we will probably never know. Both sides have given different stories, as well as the witnesses. Even McDonald told different stories, one story was that she did not stab Schmitz and that someone else did. The general details stay the same but who would have been the protagonist, changes. Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman argues that McDonald is guilty of committing murder and that the issue is being unfairly politicized (mannix, 2012). However, Hersch Izek argues that her action is reasonable when confronted with the reasonable possibility of bodily harm. She had every reason to believe she was in danger. However, Freeman argued that there is always penalty on taking someone else's life, in exception to war and self-defense, but McDonald case was not self-defense since Schmitz had no weapon with him. There was no evidence that Schmitz posed a threat on McDonald since he was not the one that hit her, and if she did believe she was in danger, she had every opportunity to run away. Instead, she stepped forward to stab Schmitz with her scissors, which had not assaulted her (Mannix, 2012).
Justice Kelly had stated that “failure to call the ambulance immediately after she was unconscious was neglect ”. Ashlee Polkinghorne, plead guilty to manslaughter and her co-accused plead guilty to manslaughter by criminal neglect . The original sentence put forward to the couple reduced from a total of nine years imprisonment by their guilty plea. Justice Kelly revealed Benjamin McPartland’s sentence of seven years imprisonment with non-parole period of 4 years and two months . Ashlee Polkinghorne received eight years with a non-parole of 4 years and 9 months, due to her late plea on the second day of her trial . Although the couple were charged with negligence it was taken as a course of conduct not an isolated plea
In December, 2011, two years after the unpleasant homicide of Wayne Boyce, the evidence collected for this particular crime suggested Prima Facie existing in the allegations made. The case then went to trial in the NSW Supreme Court of Australia. Where A 19 year old teenager referred by the initials of his name AH as he was a juvenile, pleaded guilty towards the manslaughter of Mr Wayne Boyce, 23 years of age.
Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your attention today. [Slide #2] I would like to assert that separation is not the end of a relationship. Divorce is not the end of a relationship. Even an arrest is not the end of a relationship. Only death is the end of a relationship. In the case of defendant Donna Osborn, her insistence that ‘“one way or another I’ll be free,”’ as told in the testimony of her friend Jack Mathews and repeated in many others’, indicates that despite the lack of planning, the defendant had the full intent to kill her husband, Clinton Osborn.
Derrick Wallace, an ambitious handsome straight A student at Monroe College, has his entire life set out. He has recently won his basketball championship game and received exciting news from his girlfriend, Julia, about her moving back to the city from upstate university.
Newspaper headline: ‘KEITH MILLHOUSE MURDERED IN MANSION.” is across every paper in Rosewood County. Keith Millhouse is.. Or I guess was the richest man in Rosewood. The man had a heart of gold, only wanting to help others in need. Somehow, on a cold October day, though, Keith Millhouse was found strangled, and beaten in his mansion.
It was Labor Day weekend, 1997, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and Holly Dunn's world seemed full of possibilities. She was a popular sorority sister, and the 20-year-old had a new boyfriend, a theater major named Chris Maier. That August night, the couple took a midnight stroll to the railroad tracks and kissed under the stars. Suddenly a man appeared; he was holding what looked like an ice pick. Terrified, Chris offered him money. "No, I don't want that," the man said as he tied up the couple. A moment later he picked up a rock and smashed it against Chris's skull, killing him; he then raped Holly and bludgeoned her with a wooden board, breaking her jaw and eye socket. "I was screaming in my head," Holly recalls. "Then I was unconscious—I don't know how long. I just remember appearing in someone's front yard."
Murder on a Sunday morning is a documentary of an unfortunate mishap with the legal justice system that happens one of many times. In Jacksonville, Florida the year of 2001, May 8th there was a horrific scenery at Ramada hotel. A women named Mary Ann Stevens and her husband were tourists, while leaving their room early Sunday morning around 9AM a gunshot fatally killed Mary Ann and ended the couple’s vacation. When cops arrived at the scene and investigated they took notes on what the suspect looked like from the husband, “ The suspect is skinny black male dark shorts unknown shirt on foot running south bound…. Fishlike hat on.”- cop at the scene. When the cops were driving around they’ve spotted an African American
While the stop and frisk program ultimately seems like a great idea and that it will help residents of New York City feel safer while on the streets, there has been much controversy with this program. The issue of racial profiling is largely discussed when talking about NYPD’s stop and frisk program. Besides police officers targeting lower income neighborhoods, more stops are of African Americans or Latinos than of whites. These stops often end up with a higher arrest rate. Of the 685,784 stopped last year, 92% were male and 87% were African American or Latino (Devereaux, 2012).
As the defense has so diligently pointed out, it is indeed a sad day in the history of our judicial system when an innocent woman is sent to her death for a crime that she did not commit. I, for one, am not planning on having that momentous occasion take place today, and this is for one simple reason: Justine is guilty. While the defense has done nothing but parade Justine’s friends in front of you saying how much of a “nice person” she is, I, the prosecution, have presented you with cold, hard facts, all of which point to the guilt of the defendant.
Many people argue allowing transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender-identity is an invasion of privacy, as well as endangering children and woman. These claims are mostly targeting MtF (male to female) transgender woman as predators. Many cities and organizations including Austin, SAFE Alliance, Dallas and their police department, and El Paso have reported they have not had a single transgender predator case (“Texas
The eye opening article utilized for this analysis is titled, “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘Female’” ,written by contributing writer, Sarah Fraas on August 24, 2014 (pg 683-685). Fraas starts off by introducing the audience with a school that accepts trans women, Mills College, and talks about how glorious this decision is. The author then begins to talk about other schools not as accepting as Mills, especially Smiths College. She spews many facts and analysis on the issues trans women face today throughout the article including how transgender women are not gaining enough support to succeed, most transgendered women are neglected in school, and the fact that many have been accused of being a woman for the “wrong” reason. She also mindfully includes the image of a woman of color holding up a sign saying, “Support your sisters, not just your CIS-ters!”. The author utilizes this image to show people that we are all one whether we
Have you ever been followed by store officials or security while shopping in a department store? At first, all of the attention can be flattering but quickly becomes insulting once you realize they’re not following you to offer any assistance. Instead because of how you look you fit a certain profile that causes store officials to think you’ve come to their store to steal. This type of behavior is called racial profiling. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling refers to the discrimination practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. Citizens need to be more aware of racial profiling and make laws that racial profiling should be illegal. Racial profiling is carried out by law enforcement airport security, and other security personnel that look to profile the minorities for no reason. Heather Sally Newton Driscoll ebscohost.com stated “The practice of profiling is rooted in centuries of discrimination and is based on stereotypes that have long been disproved. Profiling holds on entire population accountable for the committed by a small minority”.
Perhaps they didn 't like the way this person was dressed or maybe they thought that maybe the strangeness of this person was threatening. While these may be some valid reasons, the root of the issue with street harassment is misogyny. That is defined as the hatred of women. In this video, specifically, the problem is trans misogyny. Trans misogyny means the negative attitudes towards trans women and trans and gender non-conforming people on the feminine end of the gender spectrum (CITE). Simply put, trans misogyny is the hatred of the feminine ,which is not experienced, only by women. In "America Reflexx", people were not sure of the gender of the person walking the street, but knew this person identified with feminine traits. They knew this because this person wore a dress and heels. This elicited an extreme amount of hatred by these people. While many of these harassers were women, the issue is still trans misogyny. Women can be as guilty as men when it comes to misogyny of trans misogyny. If a woman has a hatred for specific women or those acting in a feminine role due to them not behaving in a certain way then they too are a misogynist. For example, if these women attacking this person attacked him or her because they believe women or anyone identifying as feminine must dress and behave in a certain way, they are misogynists. The reason behind this line of thought is that these same women would not have
Transgender people can get refused to see a doctor, just because they are transgender. A study of how transgender people have been discriminated against by medical providers was done and the study showed: “Nineteen percent had been refused treatment by a doctor or other provider because of their transgender or gender non-conforming status” (). Broken down by race, the ethnic group that was refused the most was: American Indian (36%), Multi-Racial (27%), Hispanic (22%), Black (19%), White (17%), Asian (15%) and then 19% (Total Sample). Not only can they be refused medical treatment, but doctors and medical professionals can be verbally abusive as well! “Over one quarter of respondents (28%) reported verbal harassment in a doctor’s office, emergency room or other medical setting and 2% of the respondents reported being physically attacked in a doctor’s office”.
Florida’s, Texas’s and Kentucky’s new proposed bathroom laws have “caused fear and dismay among transgender people around the country” (Tannehill). Kentucky laws are more focused on the school systems but Florida 's and Texas’s laws treat transgenders as if they were criminals. Both of these states have regulations that will give transgenders civil and or criminal charges for using the bathroom they identify with (Tannehill). A transgender could be charged a fine for using the wrong bathroom and “people who report a transgender people in the bathroom to claim civil damages, for example a bounty” (Tannehill). Florida and Texas are trying to look out for the best interest of the majority population, however, “we all have to use the bathroom, but these laws would seemingly force transgender people to choose between fines and jail, risking horrific violence or leaving the state” (Tannehill). These laws have been seen as unreasonable to the transgender community and have been fought by the ACLU lawyer Joshua Block, “We’re talking about people who also have their sense of privacy and modesty, and who are not going to want to have everyone see an anatomical part of themselves that they feel should never have been there in the first place,” (Marcus). It has also been found that it’s illegal for employers to carry out such rules, “The Equal Employment