Unfinished Lives

Remembering LGBT Hate Crime Victims

Hanging Tough On Hate Crime Charge in Syracuse

Lateisha Green standingOnondaga County, NY – Lateisha Green, 22, an African American M-to-F transwoman, was shot to death in November 2008 with a .22 calibre rifle in Syracuse, NY.  Her brother, Mark Cannon, 18, who was also shot, managed to drive their car home.  Mark told reporters, “I was like oh my lord!  This is not true!.  This is not true, and Moses told me that he loved me on the way home.”  Ms. Green, née Moses Cannon, died of what authorities called a hate crime, because the motive for the shooting allegedly was that she and her brother were “gay.”  Dwight DeLee was arrested and charged.  Subsequently, his attorney entered a plea of not guilty, and challenged the hate crime charge as unconstitutional, citing that the charge is too vague and general.  The judge in the case entertained the motion on behalf of the defense, but made the determination that the charge will go forward as entered.  If Mr. DeLee is found guilty, it will be the first time in Onondaga County history that the hate crime statute will have been successfully applied in a murder case. Based on evidence the state says it has, Ms. Green was selected for this fatal attack because of her sexual orientation. Her father, Albert Cannon, spoke to the press about his grief and anger:  “I’m hurt.  Angry.  Upset.  Am I mad at the kid?  Yes.  Mostly, I’m upset with society.  How do we let our kids get  this angry this young?  This was hatred.”  The trial is scheduled for mid-July of this year.

June 5, 2009 - Posted by | anti-LGBT hate crime murder, Heterosexism and homophobia, New York, Perpetrators of Hate Crime, transphobia | , , , , ,

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