![]() This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.Īssociated with Amazon Web Services and created by Elastic Load Balancing, AWSELB cookie is used to manage sticky sessions across production servers. Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. This cookie is used by Akamai to optimize site security by distinguishing between humans and bots This cookie is used to detect and defend when a client attempt to replay a cookie.This cookie manages the interaction with online bots and takes the appropriate actions. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. ![]() Williamson had transitioned from male to female before dropping out of high school in Alabama, leaving her parents’ home and drifting from place to place. However, Vallum has never contested testimony and evidence that he long knew Williamson was transgender.Ī witness in state court had testified previously that Vallum and Williamson had sex multiple times while the witness was a roommate with Williamson. He declined to speak with The Associated Press in a March letter, citing advice from his lawyers, and didn’t address the issue Monday. He said he “blacked out” and doesn’t remember the crime, a variation of what’s known as a “gay panic” or “trans panic” defense. Vallum initially told sheriff’s deputies and later told The Sun Herald newspaper that he found out that Williamson had a penis on moments before he killed her. Vallum can’t go back and undo what he did to Mercedes,” Allred said. “It’s difficult to image how a mother could lock a two- or three-year-old child in a room for house on end while adults did drugs.”Īllred said Vallum first tried to kill himself when he was 7 or 8. Vallum lived through a childhood that was characterized by abandonment and neglect,” said public defender Ellen Allred. Public defenders submitted a sealed brief Monday to Guirola outlining Vallum’s troubles. ![]() When Williamson tried to run, they said, Vallum chased her and bashed her head with a hammer. They added he shocked her with a stun gun and stabbed her with a pocketknife. Vallum lured Williamson into a car in Alabama and drove her 50 miles (80 kilometers) to his family home near Lucedale, Mississippi, prosecutors said. “These actions invite increased discrimination and continued animus against transgender people,” Gordon said.įederal prosecutor Julia Gegenheimer had said at Vallum’s plea hearing in December that he began planning to kill Williamson after a friend called him in May 2015 to say he’d discovered Williamson’s identity. She cited the Trump administration’s reversal of guidelines that transgender students nationwide should be able to use school bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity - among other steps. Gordon said her group remains concerned how Trump policies will affect transgender people. LGBT advocates applauded federal officials’ first use of the 2009 hate crimes law to prosecute an offense against a transgender person.ĭemoya Gordon, attorney for the Transgender Rights Project of Lambda Legal, called the prosecution “significant” but noted it began under President Barack Obama’s administration and added “the cake was already baked” on Vallum’s sentencing when Donald Trump became president. “The Justice Department will continue its efforts to vindicate the rights of those individuals who are affected by bias motivated crimes.” “Today’s sentencing reflects the importance of holding individuals accountable when they commit violent acts against transgender individuals,” Sessions said in a statement. The case, watched nationally amid concerns transgender women are particularly vulnerable to violence, drew comment from U.S. “If I could bring back Mercedes by giving up my life, I would gladly do so.” “Every day, I live with the guilt and regret of my actions,” Vallum said. On Monday, Vallum begged forgiveness from Williamson’s family and friends, though none of them were present - only a few reporters, the judge and Vallum’s father and stepmother. He previously pleaded guilty to a state murder charge that led to a separate sentence of life without parole. Vallum pleaded guilty to the federal charges in December. “The taking of a human life because a person has a particular gender identity is particularly heinous and cannot be tolerated in an enlightened society,” Guirola said in court in Gulfport.
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