Justice for Angie
Allen Andrade, who faced trial this week for the murder of trans woman Angie Zapata, has been found GUILTY on all four charges!!! Guilty of first degree murder. Guilty of bias motivated crime. Guilty of car theft. Guilty of identity theft.
My heart is racing. I am so relieved and thankful to the jurors, who deliberated for only two hours. At 4 PM MDT, Allen Andrade will be sentenced to life without parole.
This is a bittersweet victory for the trans community. This is a small bit of justice for Angie Zapata. May she rest in peace.
:::dances:::
While this will never bring Angie Zapata back to those who cared about her, I am grateful that the jurors saw this for exactly what it was: a brutal crime motivated by hatred and fear.
I am hopeful that it sets enough of a precedent that bias crimes–especially violent ones–will be recognized and prosecuted as such in the future.
Peace, Angie.
Rot in hell, motherfuckers.
I love it when justice is served.
Thank god those jurors saw these heinous crimes as nothing else. It feels so good when the good guys win and when the bad guys get locked up.
I am a trans woman living in Denver and I have been crying for the past hour after seeing the verdict. My god, maybe I’m human, too.
It’s a good day, Mireille. Hugs to you.
I was thinking about what justice really meant after I heard the verdict I too was very relived to know that he did not get away with but I found myself thinking about the next time this kind of thing happens. Trans people face high rates of violence, the remembering our dead reports two unnatural deaths a month. I cannot help but feel that justice will happen when we start to value all people.
(((Mireille)))
I have not been able to stop thinking about this since this afternoon. While I’m relieved by the guilty verdicts, I’m not all that optimistic about future cases. Maybe I will expand upon that thought in another post. Now I’m crying too!
@Renee @SarahMC: I would love to believe that this could act as a deterrent. However, hate crimes have not really abated in the light of “bias crime” (c’mon, it’s a hate crime) legislation.
@Mireille: I echo SarahMC’s virtual embrace of you.
I put this on my FB this afternoon, (I know, I know!) and I am so excited. The jurors saw through the bullshit the defense was pulling with their “Justin” and “he” crap. And kudos the amazing family who kept correcting them, firmly and steadfastly, without breaking down. That is an amazing feat, trust me.
Mireille: Add me to the virtual embraces! I’ve been crying all afternoon.
Bias motivated crime? Is that a new term? (I haven’t been following this case all that closely) Or an American term? What’s the difference between bias motivated crime and hate crime- both in definition and sentencing?
Oh god, what a relief. I don’t know about you guys — I wasn’t getting my hopes up. Better to be pleasantly surprised!
Lisa, as far as I can tell, it’s just different terminology.
Someone please correct me if that’s not the case.
I think it’s just different terminology, but it probably makes sense. Hate crime sounds more satisfying, at least to me, but bias crime is perhaps more accurate. If I’m prepared to commit first degree murder, I probably hate my victim, but that hatred could be motivated by something other than bias against a marginalized group.
So he was charged with first degree after all? I’m glad. It was the right decision.
Will the names of the jurors be released so we can hug them? I would like to hug them.
While working with the Courage Campaign this weekend, I met many wonderful transgendered souls and I know this case was in the front of their minds because shook the community to it’s core. Glad to hear justice being served.
the term “bias motivated crime” is a very clever way to get a conviction for a hate-crime without having to prove someone must “hate” another person to cause them harm. for example, if you beat me up and call me a racial epithet, you defense could argue that there was no evidence you hate my race in the past because you aren’t a member of the KKK or something. but it does show a bias of some sort.
but it does show a bias of some sort because you used the epithet. the new term can cover a very broad number of crimes that were once harder to prove. a very good thing, this “bias motivated crime” term.
Thanks for shining some light on that, Ceejee. Makes sense.
For lack of any more articulate words… HELL YEAH!
I wish to echo BeckySharper: rot in hell, motherfucker.
A good day indeed.
[...] I do best is write, and advocate for people, but as with the Angie Zapata case, there’s always a sense of being too late to the party, of being able to talk about [...]