Although Missouri transgender teen Ally Steinfeld was killed in an especially brutal manner and three of her alleged attackers are charged with first-degree murder, police are not calling her slaying a hate crime.
Steinfeld, 17, of Houston, Mo., was stabbed multiple times, including in her genitals, and her eyes were gouged out. Her body was burned in an attempt to conceal the crime. Three people have been charged with her murder and a fourth with other crimes connected to the cover-up.
Missouri does have a law providing for enhanced penalties for crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation, but authorities say they do not believe anti-trans bias was the motivation, the Associated Press reports.
"You don't kill someone if you don't have hate in your heart," James Sigman, the sheriff of Missouri's Texas County, told the AP. "But no, it's not a hate crime." He did not specify what authorities believe motivated the attack.
Steinfeld's remains were discovered last week near one of the suspects' homes, a trailer in Cahool, Mo. She was most likely killed September 3, six days before her birthday, police said. Her family had reported her missing September 14; the last time they had heard from her was September 1.
Andrew Vrba and his girlfriend, Isis Schauer, both 18, both of Houston, are charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and abandonment of a corpse. The trailer's occupant, Briana Calderas, 24, is charged with first-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse. James Grigsby is charged with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Amber Steinfeld, Ally's mother, told the AP that Ally was dating Calderas and living at the trailer with her, as were Vrba, and Schauer, even though police listed Houston as their residence. Amber Steinfeld said that the last time she heard from Ally, the teen said she was happy \. She had come out as trans on Instagram in May, according to the AP, and in June she posted that she identified as "trans male to female and I am mostly lesbian but pansexual," then wrote, "I am proud to be me I am proud to be trans I am beautiful I don't care what people think."
In Missouri, first-degree murder is already punishable by execution or life in prison, so even if the murder suspects were prosecuted and convicted under the state's hate-crimes law, it would probably not result in a greater penalty, the AP reports. "I would say murder in the first-degree is all that matters," Texas County prosecutor Parke Stevens told the news service. "That is a hate crime in itself."
Still, activists in the state are encouraging authorities to consider the possibility that Steinfeld's death was a hate crime. Missouri LGBT rights group PROMO and the Anti-Defamation League issued a joint statement to this effect Wednesday. "Not taking those steps conveys a lack of awareness about the transgender community and the threats of violence we live with every day," Steph Perkins of PROMO told the AP.
Perkins and Jason Lamb of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys said they could not recall any anti-transgender crime being prosecuted under the Missouri hate-crimes law.
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Chase Strangio said he has come to believe hate-crimes laws are ineffective. "I worry that what hate-crime laws do is narrow our focus on certain types of individual violence while absolving the entire system that generates the violence," he told the AP. "I don't see them as being a strategic use of our movement's resources."
However, Dru Levasseur of Lambda Legal told the AP that Lambda and other groups still support such laws. "It does send a message that transgender people's lives matter," he said. "But we need to get at the root of these horrific murders. It's not just about adding on to the sentencing. It's about looking at the big picture of why is this happening."
Steinfeld was the 21st transgender homicide victim reported this year. Most of them, although not Steinfeld, have been trans women of color. To address the situation, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, today introduced a resolution calling for policies to improve the lives of all transgender Americans.
"Because of persistent racism and sexism, life is harder for women of color in our country," he said in a prepared statement. "That's especially true for trans women of color, who face even more barriers to the employment, education, and housing we all need to live safe and healthy lives. I've introduced this resolution simply because I want us to be a nation in which all people, regardless of their race, sex, gender identity, or religious affiliation should worry if they will their life taken simply because of who they are."
Lambda Legal applauded his move. "The needs of transgender people and the epidemic of transgender violence warrant this level of attention from the highest levels of government," said Sharon McGowan, director of strategy, in a press release. "Lambda Legal commends Rep. Ellison for using his powerful voice and position to lift up this issue and give it the attention it deserves, which is long overdue. We are committed to protecting all LGBT people from attacks like these, and will continue to work and fight alongside leaders on these issues, like Rep. Ellison."
