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May 3, 2012

Transgender African-American Woman Accepts Manslaughter Plea in Controversial Case 
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A transgender African-American woman in Minneapolis has plead guilty to
second-degree manslaughter to avoid a murder trial for the fatal
stabbing of a man who harassed her with racial and homophobic slurs.
Supporters say Chrishaun "Ce Ce" Mc Donald was the victim on June 5,
2011, after two women and a man, all of them Caucasian, began harassing
her and her friends outside a bar. While the events of that night remain
unclear, the fight that ensued left 47-year-old Dean Schmitz dead after
he was apparently stabbed by a pair of fabric scissors that had been in
Mc Donald’s purse. Mc Donald’s supporters have said the case is
symptomatic of the bias against transgender people and African Americans
in the criminal justice system. Mc Donald was due to go on trial this
week. But rather than face up to 80 years in prison, she agreed on
Wednesday to plea guilty to second-degree manslaughter for an expected
sentence of three years and five months. In a statement, the Ce Ce Mc
Donald Support Committee said: "We’ve been proud to stand with Ce Ce
as she fought this unjust prosecution and will continue to stand with
her as she fights for justice as a trans woman of color within the
prison system."

 

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