ST. LOUIS — On the morning of her scheduled execution, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson denied clemency for Amber McLaughlin.
She will be the first openly transgender death row inmate executed by the state of Missouri and the first in the United States.
In a news release, the governor's Office confirmed they will carry out the sentence of McLaughlin as ordered by the Supreme Court of Missouri.
"McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remains after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, raped, and murdered Ms. Guenther. McLaughlin is a violent criminal," Parson said. "Ms. Guenther's family and loved ones deserve peace. The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin’s sentence according to the Court's order and deliver justice."
At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, McLaughlin is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the crime she committed 19 years ago.
According to the Anti-Execution Death Penalty Information Center, there is no known case of an openly transgender inmate being executed in the US before.
McLaughlin's attorney, Laurence Komp, shared this statement:
“We are just profoundly disappointed. This was a case where the jury refused to impose death - so it was ideal for clemency to close that loophole and impose life.”
When referring to the defendant, Gov.Parson identified McLaughlin as her birth given name.
PROMO, Missouri's statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, shared this statement from director of communications Robert Fischer:
“We would expect elected officials across all levels of government to respect a person in life and in death. Using a person’s correct name and pronouns is the very basic level of decency we can show towards each other.”
The crime
5 On Your Side searched through our archives, learning what happened on Nov. 20, 2003.
The victim's neighbor said Beverly Guenther was in fear of her ex-partner for months.
According to the neighbor, we learned a police officer was walking Guenther from work to her car for a week.
But, the one time she stopped asking for an escort, the murder happened.
Guenther was about to file another order of protection against McLaughlin the very next day when she was abducted from her job in Earth City.
Her body was then found in south St. Louis.
Guenther was raped and stabbed to death.
In the news release, Parson said, "McLaughlin terrorized Ms. Guenther for months prior, to the point where Ms. Guenther had an order of protection against McLaughlin after McLaughlin broke into her home. McLaughlin’s culpability in Ms. Guenther's murder has never been in question. Missouri courts have found no issue in the application of Missouri law to McLaughlin, and federal appellate courts have maintained as much."
The conviction
McLaughlin was charged with first-degree murder, rape and aggravated assault.
Komp, said while the jury convicted McLaughlin of the crime, they were deadlocked on a death sentence.
That's when a St. Louis County judge set the ruling for the death sentence.
Missouri is one of two states across the country that allows a judge to do this.
Clemency fight
On Friday, Komp said all legal proceedings are done.
Komp explained, their stay of execution request was denied by the Missouri Supreme Court.
He said, they couldn't turn to the U.S. Supreme Court because the arguments were based on state law.
This meant the only person to grant clemency was Governor Parson.
The weeks leading up to the scheduled execution date, McLaughlin's attorneys gave this clemency petition to Governor Parson.
Several advocates sent letters to Parson asking for mercy including, the Missouri Catholic Conference, head of the Missouri State Public Defender system, and Democrats Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05).
Chief Justice Michael A. Wolff and retired judges also submitted this letter to Governor Parson’s Deputy General Counsel based on the jury deadlock issue.
On the day of the execution, Wolff sat down with 5 On Your Side.
Wolf is a former Missouri Supreme Court judge and chief justice, as well as a professor and dean emeritus of Saint Louis University Law School.
He said, "We were concerned that the death penalty was recommended or imposed by the judge, even when the jury didn’t recommend it. We believe the jury is the conscious of the community. Jurors are much better at the heart and soul of the community than judges."
Wolff said he wasn't surprised by Governor Parson's decision to deny clemency.
"Governors rarely do that in Missouri. They feel like the case proceeded along the lines what appears to be a fair in judicial proceeding. They are not going to second guess what the courts have done," he explained.
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