November 14th commemorated the fifth year since the brutal murder of Lateisha 'Teish' Green. Lateisha was a 22-year old African-American transgender woman who was shot by Dwight DeLee after DeLee uttered anti-gay slurs. Delee was found guilty by a jury of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and sentenced to 25 years in prison. It was then that Lateisha's family believed they had received some justice, although the verdict would not bring Lateisha back.
Tragically, this past July the New York Supreme Court's 4th Appellate Division set the conviction aside because of what it viewed as an "inconsistent" verdict.
As we prepare for The Transgender Day of Rememberance on November 20th, Michael Silverman the Executive Director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), has written a commentary about the ongoing search for justice for Lateisha.
As we approach the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, my thoughts turn to Lateisha "Teish" Green, the 22-year old African-American transgender woman who was shot and killed at close range by Dwight DeLee after DeLee uttered anti-gay slurs. Thursday, Nov. 14, marked five years since the tragic incident. In the summer of 2009 I spent weeks on the ground in Syracuse working side by side with Teish's family and the local LGBT community to bring attention to this case, along with helping to educate the media about how to accurately and sensitively cover the trial.
Here in New York, this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance reignites our push for a measure of justice in the killing of Teish Green. Teish and her family deserve it, and my organization will continue to fight in her memory and in the memory of all transgender lives lost to senseless violence.
Syracuse.com has the full commentary.