Marine Who Killed Trans Woman Pardoned by Anti-LGBTQ Philippine Leader

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton used a trans panic defense after he killed Jennifer Laude in 2014.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

Updated

September 13 2020 9:50 PM EST

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UPDATE: Anti-LGBTQ+ Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pardoned Pemberton for the homicide of Laude.

A Marine who killed a 26-year-old trans woman in the Philippines was ordered to be released after serving less than six years in prison, The New York Times reports.

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was 19 when he met Jennifer Laude at a nightclub near Manila, took her back to a hotel, choked her, and broke her neck in October 2014. Pemberton used a trans panic defense, with his lawyers arguing Laude was responsible for her death because she didn't disclose to the Marine she was transgender. The attorneys claimed Laude "raped" Pemberton because she performed oral sex on him, allegedly before he knew she was trans.

Pemberton was convicted of murder and sentenced to six to 12 years in a Manila-area prison; the sentence was later reduced to 10 years. Pemberton appealed the conviction and the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court granted it,with the Bureau of Corrections ordering his release.

Many expressed fury at Pemberton's abbreviated sentence, calling it a miscarriage of justice and claiming the decision was made to appease American officials. The Philippines is a former U.S. colony and the two nations are military allies; Pemberton was in Manila to take part in joint military exercises.