The LGBTQ+ "panic" defense is still legal in West Virginia and used to justify the murders of members of the LGBTQ+ community. This backward defense is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity caused the defendant's violent crime, often including brutal murder. Many perpetrators and relentless killers have received reduced sentences and even acquittals because their lawyers argued they went into a "panic" after discovering that their victims were in the LGBTQ+ community. 

There are many recent examples. In 2021, a Virginian man beat to death a nonheteronormative individual. A subsequent trial was held in the Montgomery County Circuit Court. After his defense argued that the attacker "panicked" upon discovering that the victim was gay, the killer was acquitted. The medical examiner and a detective testified that the victim's teeth were knocked out, his brain was bleeding and swollen, and most of the bones in his face were broken.

Clearly, the "panic" defense is implying that LGBTQ+ individuals are second-class citizens.

At least 33 percent of charges are reduced in cases using the "panic" defense. Research by an associate professor at St. Edwards University found that the "panic" defense was used at least 104 times across 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico between 1970 and 2020. 

In the 2023 legislative session, more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of legislation were presented. This number is unprecedented in the history of the United States. The Human Rights Campaign has issues a state of emergency. Discrimination is increasing in schools. According to the FBI, hate crimes have risen by 11 percent. Also, more than 30 transgenders were murdered last year. As humans sharing this planet, we are morally obligated to protect the rights of each other. Liberty and Justice are supposed to be for All. In these times of increased legislative oppression, we must fight back.

Imagine living your entire life in fear. Imagine yourself or your loved ones murdered in cold blood without the killer brought to justice. 

Lady Justice is not blind in West Virginia. Her bigoted eyes glare at the LGBTQ+ community. Let's not let the flames of hate burn civil rights protections. Let's not allow the fangs of bigotry to puncture the jugular of progress. 

Legally authorized discrimination must end. Minorities are often beaten, tortured, and killed in the South. They and their loved ones have been robbed of equal justice, robbed of liberty, and robbed of safety. 

Several states have already abolished the "panic" defense, and the American Bar Association has called for a nationwide ban.

If you agree, please sign your name to tell WV lawmakers to end the "panic" defense in West Virginia.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

Sincerely, 

References:

https://harvardcrcl.org/lgbtq-panic-the-dark-ages-defense-strategy-you-didnt-know-existed/​

https://www.law.georgetown.edu/american-criminal-law-review/in-print/volume-57-number-4-fall-2020/the-trans-panic-revisited/​

https://lgbtqbar.org/programs/advocacy/gay-trans-panic-defense/​

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/ucr/hate-crime​

https://www.hrc.org/