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Our View: Conviction a step forward for GLBT
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Opinion
Wednesday afternoon Allen Andrade was convicted of first-degree murder and a hate crime for beating Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old Greeley transgender woman, with a fire extinguisher.
The jury deliberated for only two hours before finding the 32-year-old Thornton man guilty.
After meeting on the social networking site MocoSpace.com, Andrade beat Zapata on July 14, 2008 after learning about her gender.
Prosecutors said Andrade was aware Zapata was biologically male for hours before he beat her to death because he disliked gays, but Andrade's attorney argued that he lashed out upon discovery, according to the Associated Press.
This case is believed to be the "first prosecution under Colorado's bias-crime statute for a crime involving a transgender person," AP reported, and the hate crime conviction adds an extra three years to his sentence of mandatory life without parole.
A hate crime is defined by Merriam-Webster as "any of various crimes (as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation)."
We on the Collegian editorial board agreed that the hate crime conviction represents a step forward for the GLBT community, a community that has spent decades trying to achieve increased rights and protections for the transgender minority.
Labeling this murder a hate crime represents a change in our social mindset, the people's acknowledgement that a person murdered another simply because of their sexuality. And while acknowledgement is not enough, we hope it is a step toward equality.
The jury deliberated for only two hours before finding the 32-year-old Thornton man guilty.
After meeting on the social networking site MocoSpace.com, Andrade beat Zapata on July 14, 2008 after learning about her gender.
Prosecutors said Andrade was aware Zapata was biologically male for hours before he beat her to death because he disliked gays, but Andrade's attorney argued that he lashed out upon discovery, according to the Associated Press.
This case is believed to be the "first prosecution under Colorado's bias-crime statute for a crime involving a transgender person," AP reported, and the hate crime conviction adds an extra three years to his sentence of mandatory life without parole.
A hate crime is defined by Merriam-Webster as "any of various crimes (as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation)."
We on the Collegian editorial board agreed that the hate crime conviction represents a step forward for the GLBT community, a community that has spent decades trying to achieve increased rights and protections for the transgender minority.
Labeling this murder a hate crime represents a change in our social mindset, the people's acknowledgement that a person murdered another simply because of their sexuality. And while acknowledgement is not enough, we hope it is a step toward equality.
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