LaTeisha Green's Killer Gets Max

The murderer of Syracuse, New York transwoman Lateisha Green has received the maximum sentence of 25 years.

Dwight DeLee, the defendant in Onondaga County's first hate-crime homicide prosecution, was sentenced this morning to the maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. DeLee, 20, of Gifford St., was convicted last month of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime for fatally shooting Moses Cannon as the victim sat in a car outside a house on Seymour Street Nov. 14. Cannon, 22, has been described by family as a transgender person who went by the name LaTeisha "Teish" Green and often dressed as a woman. DeLee read a statement in court this morning maintaining he is innocent and attacking the media coverage of his case and the jury verdict against him. He offered an apology to the victim's family, but maintained he did not kill anybody. "I'm no monster. I'm a young human being," DeLee said. The victim's mother, Roxanne Green, spoke briefly in court so that DeLee would understand the depth of the family's loss. "He took a very precious life," Green said, adding she hoped DeLee would see the victim's face every time he closes his eyes for the rest of his life.

According to witnesses, DeLee used anti-gay slurs before shooting Green as she sat in a parked car with her brother. DeLee's is the first hate crime conviction involving a transgender person in New York state and only the second in the entire nation.

Hate Crime Verdict In Lateisha Green Trial

Despite a tumultuous trial that included threatened witnesses and recanted testimonies, the killer of New York transwoman Lateisha Green has been found guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime. The Task Force reacts:

"This verdict sends a strong message that hate violence will not be condoned. How many more like Lateisha Green must spill blood before our society says no to harassment, no to discrimination and no to violence against transgender people? We must move forward, at all levels of government, to pass laws that fight hate in schools, in workplaces and on the streets. We must continue working toward a culture that affirms the dignity and worth of all people. While no verdict will bring Lateisha Green back, justice was served today."

According to the Associated Press, "DeLee faces additional prison time because he was convicted of a hate crime. He becomes just the second person in the U.S. convicted of a hate crime that involved a transgender victim." Just the second such conviction? Can that be true?

Lateisha Green Murder Trial Begins Today

The trial of the murderer of transwoman Lateisha Green begins today in Syracuse, New York. Prosecutors hope to get a conviction with a hate crimes embellishment.

It was no secret to friends and family that Lateisha Green was born a boy. She had been living mostly as a female since age 16. On a Friday night last November, Green — this time dressed as a man — and her brother, Mark Cannon, went to a party. Several guests objected because they thought the two were gay. Several started yelling "profane and vulgar comments," police reports said. As Green and Cannon were sitting in their car a few minutes later, one of the partygoers emerged from the house with a .22-caliber rifle. Without a word, police say Dwight DeLee fired a single shot. The bullet grazed Cannon's arm, and with a deadly thud hit Green, 22, in the chest. "I'm hurt. Angry, upset. Mostly, I'm upset with society," said Albert Cannon, the victims' father. "How do we let our kids get this angry this young? This was hatred." Prosecutors agreed and charged DeLee, 20, with second-degree murder as a hate crime under the state's nine-year-old law. The hate crime label could add years of additional time to DeLee's prison term if he's convicted.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund has a blog where you can follow developments in the trial. Representatives of the Empire State Pride Agenda, GLAAD, and the TLDEF are all in Syracuse to lend support to Green's family. The TLDEF is also live-Tweeting the proceedings, which are just getting under way. You can show your support by joining the Facebook group Justice For Lateisha Green.