Missouri Transgender Inmate's Haunting Final Words as She's Executed by Lethal Injection After Request for Clemency Denied

Amber McLaughlin, who was convicted of a murder in 2003, was put to death by lethal injection in Missouri on Tuesday.

She became the first openly transgender woman to be executed in the United States after the state governor denied her clemency.

In a statement, the Missouri Department of Corrections said McLaughlin, 49, was "pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m."

McLaughlin noted in her final statement released by the department of corrections: "I am sorry for what I did. I am a loving & caring person."

CNN reported that McLaughlin's execution was the first in the U.S. this year, but it was unusual since women's executions in the country are already rare.

USA Today reported that the Missouri convict spoke softly with a spiritual adviser at her side as the fatal dose of pentobarbital was administered.

McLaughlin breathed several times heavily before shutting her eyes. She was pronounced dead after a few minutes.

According to the non-profit organization Death Penalty Information Center, only 17 people had been executed before McLaughlin's execution since 1976, when the Supreme Court restored the death penalty after a brief suspension.

The non-profit group confirmed that McLaughlin is the first openly transgender person to be executed in the country.

Missouri Convict Amber McLaughlin's Traumatic Childhood and Mental Health Problems

The camp of Amber McLaughlin had petitioned Missouri's Republican governor Mike Parson for clemency last month, urging him to commute her death sentence.

McLaughlin's lawyers asked for a life sentence without a chance of parole in place of capital punishment.

The clemency request delves into several issues, including McLaughlin's traumatic early years and mental health problems, which the jury was unaware of during her trial.

The petition noted that a foster parent put feces in her face when the petitioner was a child, and her adoptive father used a stun gun on her.

It resulted in McLaughlin suffering from depression, and she even tried to take her own life several times.

The petition also includes reports citing a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a condition characterized by emotional distress and anxiety when there is a conflict between a person's gender identity and assigned sex at birth.

In confirming the State of Missouri in carrying out the death penalty sentence of McLaughlin, Parson said the family and loved ones of Beverly Guenther, who was murdered by McLaughlin, "deserve peace."

"The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin's sentence according to the Court's order and deliver justice," the governor noted in a statement.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, five people in Missouri have been executed since Parson took office in June 2018 after he refused to grant clemency in each case.

Missouri Convict Amber McLaughlin Case

Amber McLaughlin has only transitioned while in prison. She was reportedly known as Scott McLaughlin at the time of trial and conviction.

Before the murder, McLaughlin was in a relationship with Beverly Guenther, 45. However, after they broke up, McLaughlin sometimes showed up at her office in St. Louis and hid inside the building.

According to court documents, Guenther decided to get a restraining order, and police sometimes escorted her to her car after work.

Guenther's neighbors alerted the police on the evening of November 20, 2003, when she did not return home. When police went to Guenther's workplace, they found a trail of blood near her car and a broken knife handle.

The following day, McLaughlin led police to an area on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, where the body of Guenther had been dumped. Guenther was reportedly raped and stabbed to death.

After a lengthy trial, AP reported that McLaughlin was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 and was sentenced to death after a jury deadlocked on the sentence.

Fox News reported that a court ordered a new sentencing hearing in the same year, but a federal appeals court panel reinstated the death sentence in 2021.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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