by Colin Dwyer

May 16, 2017

 

A federal court in Mississippi handed down a 49-year prison sentence on Monday to Joshua Brandon Vallum, the first person prosecuted under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act for targeting a victim because of gender identity.

Vallum had pleaded guilty last year to the 2015 assault and murder of Mercedes Williamson, a 17-year-old transgender girl whom he says he once dated.

“Crimes motivated by hate have devastating effects on the victims, their families and community but also leave a blemish on our society as a whole,” Christopher Freeze, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jackson Division, said in a statement.

 

Full article:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/16/528602477/1st-man-prosecuted-for-federal-hate-crime-targeting-transgender-victim-gets-49-y