Amber McLaughlin, 49, who is the first openly transgender woman to be executed in the United States, died by lethal injection in Missouri on Tuesday night.
McLaughlin, whose first name was Scott, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 in the killing of Beverly Guenther, his former girlfriend, in 2003, according to Newsweek. McLaughlin asked Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, for clemency for mental illness.
JUST IN: Missouri has carried out the execution of Amber McLaughlin on Tuesday. She was the first openly transgender woman executed in the U.S. https://t.co/ZpQTXojfRH pic.twitter.com/EQWdHjtYGS
— FOX4 News Kansas City (@fox4kc) January 4, 2023
In a statement issued Tuesday, Parson announced that he would not stop McLaughlin’s execution
"McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remains after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, raped, and murdered Ms. Guenther. McLaughlin is a violent criminal," Parson said. "Ms. Guenther's family and loved ones deserve peace. The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin’s sentence according to the Court's order and deliver justice."
According to the Governor’s office, McLaughlin waited outside Guenther’s workplace and violently raped and stabbed her when she walked to her vehicle.
“McLaughlin terrorized Ms. Guenther for months prior, to the point where Ms. Guenther had an order of protection against McLaughlin after McLaughlin broke into her home,” the statement explained.
A jury convicted McLaughlin of first-degree murder, forcible rape and armed criminal action, CNN reported. The jury was reportedly deadlocked when it came to a sentence. According to state law, the judge was left to decide between life imprisonment without parole and death. McLaughlin was sentenced to death.
According to NBC, the state was ordered to give McLaughlin a new sentencing in 2016 the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals court reinstated the death penalty:
Officers found a broken knife handle near Guenther's car and a trail of blood at her office building on the night of Nov. 20, 2003, after her neighbors reported that Guenther had not returned home. McLaughlin later led police to a location near the Mississippi River in St. Louis where Guenther's body had been dumped.
The state was ordered to give McLaughlin a new sentencing in 2016, but a federal appeals court panel reinstated the death penalty in 2021.
McLaughlin’s appeal for clemency argued that the jury did not listen to issues about her mental health. Her clemency petition included details of traumatic childhood abuse, such as a foster parent who rubbed feces in her face when she was a toddler, and her adoptive father used a stun gun on her.
In a final written statement on Tuesday, McLaughlin said “I am sorry for what I did” and “I am a loving and caring person.” McLaughlin was pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m.
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