Missouri Executes Transgender Inmate For 2003 Murder Of Ex-Girlfriend

Mairead ElordiJanuary 4, 2023

Missouri Nearly two decades after the murder, a trans-identifying male prisoner was executed for the murder of his ex girlfriend.

The state on Tuesday evening executed Amber McLaughlin, formerly Scott McLaughlin, 49, who was convicted in 2006 of stalking, repeatedly raping, and fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend three years earlier.

McLaughlin was killed by lethal injection at Bonne Terre’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Centre in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

JUST IN : Missouri executed Amber McLaughlin Tuesday. She was the first transgender woman executed in America. https://t.co/ZpQTXojfRH pic.twitter.com/EQWdHjtYGS

— FOX4 News Kansas City (@fox4kc) January 4, 2023

His death is thought to be the first execution of an openly trans-identifying male in U.S. history. There were no court appeals pending in McLaughlin’s case, according to his attorney, Larry Komp.

Hours before his death, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, denied McLaughlin’s clemency request.

“McLaughlin terrorized Ms. Guenther in the final years of her life, but we hope her family and loved ones may finally have some peace,” Parson said In a statement following execution.

McLaughlin was also arrested for burglarizing Beverly Guenther’s home, just before he killed her. He was placed under restraining orders.

Nevertheless, McLaughlin repeatedly stalked Guenther’s suburban St. Louis office, sometimes even hiding inside the building, court documents state. Police officers sometimes escorted Guenther to her car after work.

On the day of the murder, McLaughlin waited for Guenther outside her office and attacked her with a steak knife. McLaughlin repeatedly stabbed and raped Guenther before dropping her body in the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

When Guenther didn’t return home from work that night, neighbors called the police. Police found a blood trail and a broken knife handle at Guenther’s office. McLaughlin led police the next day to where he had dumped his body near the Mississippi River.

About three years ago while in prison awaiting execution, McLaughlin began identifying and presenting as female, dressing in women’s clothes and wearing makeup. McLaughlin never received hormone therapy. according His attorney. He continued to be housed in a men’s prison, the Potosi Correctional Center south of St. Louis.

McLaughlin was supported by allies up to the day of McLaughlin’s death pushing For his execution to be stopped. Allies said In solidarity, he asked for pink lipstick and nail polish to be worn by supporters.

A petition for clemency signed by many thousand people mentioned evidence that McLaughlin was subject to abuse as a child, severe depression, and numerous suicide attempts. A foster parent rubbed feces in McLaughlin’s face as a toddler, and his adoptive father used a stun gun on him, the petition claimed.

Meanwhile, some on social media called for remembering the victim of McLaughlin’s crime and rejected the idea that he is actually a woman.

#BeverlyGuenther When a MAN named raped, tortured, and murdered her, she was the only female witness.
Scott Mclaughlin

#SayHerName pic.twitter.com/C859JpWUgG

— Katie Saurus🌹🦕🇺🇦 (@LeaningLeft46) January 4, 2023

McLaughlin was sentenced death by a judge in trial after a jury convicted and passed on his sentence. Missouri and Indiana are both the only states This allows a judge to overrule a jury that has failed to agree on a sentence.

A federal judge overturned McLaughlin’s death sentence in 2016 and ordered McLaughlin to be sent back for a fresh hearing. In 2021 though, McLaughlin’s death sentence was effectively restored by a federal appeals court.

Guenther’s family said they were glad the governor rejected McLaughlin’s clemency request and that they felt McLaughlin had to be held accountable for taking their loved one’s life.

McLaughlin’s death was Missouri’s third execution in nine months, a significant increase for the state over the last several years.