A story on 365gay.com last week indicated that the alleged killer of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, the 19-year-old Puerto Rican man who was murdered in mid-November--and not just murdered, but beheaded, dismembered, and burned--might use the "homosexual panic" defense at his trial.Apparently, according to reports, Juan Antonio Martinez Matos was looking for a prostitute on the night that he picked up Mercado, and when he discovered that Mercado, who was apparently wearing a dress and wig, had a male body, he "had a flashback to when he was raped in prison" and proceeded to kill, decapitate, and dismember Mercado.
Oh, please.
I'm sorry if Matos was raped in prison. It shouldn't have happened, I have no doubt that it was traumatic, and, with the current state of the prison system, it's unlikely that he received adequate, or any, counseling to deal with it.
But if any jury seriously considers a gay or trans panic defense as legitimate in this case (or in any case), there is something seriously wrong with the justice system (well, we already know that, too).
The gay/trans panic defense needs to be eliminated entirely. It should not be a consideration in any case, regardless of the circumstances.
1. If murder was an appropriate or justifiable response to unwanted sexual advances (I'm not talking about self-defense in a case of rape or violent attack), the majority of heterosexual men would be dead at age 16. I can personally name a couple dozen men who wouldn't be walking around today if I had decided to kill them instead of saying, "No, thanks." Luckily for me, although some were a little slow on the uptake, all of them eventually understood those words--and most people do.
2. If murder was an appropriate or justifiable response to discovering that a person's body was not what you thought it was, then what happens when you discover that your potential lover has only one breast or one testicle? What happens when you discover extra fat that was hidden by a girdle or binding device? What happens when you discover a colostomy bag, a major surgical scar, a prosthetic device, or something else unexpected under your potential lover's clothing? Is it okay to kill that person? Is there a "he was fatter than I thought he was" or "she had a prosthetic breast" defense? I'm not joking here--I am absolutely serious. It makes about as much sense as a trans panic defense.
Women are expected to put up with all manner of unwanted sexual overtures throughout life, and are frequently blamed for somehow bringing these advances on themselves. Even today, women rape victims are often made to feel responsible for their own victimization.
But if a straight man is propositioned by a gay man, or if a straight man discovers that the person he was attracted to or wanted to have sex with has a male body, he still feels justified in killing that person rather than simply saying, "No, thanks. Not interested." And his defense lawyers still feel that the gay/trans panic defense is appropriate to use in court. (Of course, the overwhelming majority of straight men would not murder someone in these circumstances--I am talking about the few who do and feel it is justified.)
Although I realize that there are two sides to the hate-crimes law debate, and I understand both sides (and haven't quite decided which position I most agree with), it is possible that hate-crimes statutes will eventually eliminate the gay/trans panic defense, which would be a very positive development. It is simply not a viable defense.
There are responsible, mature, adult ways of dealing with what a person might consider an unpleasant situation (again, I'm not talking about violent situations, situations involving weapons, and so on).
You can say "No." You can walk away. Allen Andrade, Angie Zapata's murderer, could have walked away. Juan Matos could have asked Jorge Mercado to get out of his car.
Murder is simply not a legitimate response. But only when the concept of the gay/trans panic defense no longer exists will would-be killers be forced to realize this.
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1 comments:
In my youth I was constantly propositioned in the street. There is not much more scary than a guy who suddenly realises that his pals have probably just realised that he has made the mistake of propositioning someone who on closer inspection is probably not born female.
It did not help that what he had done was make an illegal proposition, the laws on homosexuality being as medieval as they were back then!
I really did not expect to survive and never made long term plans. effectively two generations on society had made a hesitant forward shuffle when it needed to make many bold steps. The media has much to blame, rarely giving an honest and almost never an accurate depiction of our situation.
Caroline
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