In March of 2007 Donzell Francis allegedly raped and murdered transwoman Ruby Rodriguez before leaving her body on a Potrero Hill sidewalk according to DNA evidence which was not tested until 2009. Last year Francis was convicted of assaulting, beating, and robbing a transgender prostitute in September 2007 in the Tenderloin and sentenced to 18 years in prison. In 2009, when his DNA was tested, he was in custody for another sexual assault…a nonfatal attack on a transgender prostitute.
Anyone sense a pattern here? By the way, Francis has not been charged with a hate crime at any point.
According to prosecutors, District Attorney George Gascón has said he will not pursue capital punishment, although he is on record as being a proponent of it…which (full disclosure) I am not.
Gascón has reportedly said that he would only pursue capital punishment in "very heinous" cases.
The serial targeting of transwomen for attack does not come up to that standard.
In other news, the 2009 convictions of Allen Andrade for the hate-motivated murder of Angie Zapata in Greeley, Colorado were upheld when Andrade's appeal was denied. Andrade had used the trans-panic defense at trial.
And in Massachusetts, they are still debating our equal rights in what they call a "bathroom bill".
I have been asked to add a link to the Department of Justice, specifically Eric Holder, to encourage some action.
9:22 AM PT: Action link added.