![]() Vallum began planning to kill Williamson after a friend called him in May of 2015, to say he had discovered her identity, federal prosecutor Julia Gegenheimer said during Vallum’s plea hearing last December. The gang forbids homosexual activity and declared it punishable by death. The couple had split in 2014. Prosecutors said Vallum killed Williamson because he feared the Latin Kings would find out he had dated a transgender woman. The couple had broken up the previous year. The Justice Department will continue its efforts to vindicate the rights of those individuals who are affected by bias motivated crimes.” Mercedes Williamson was 17 when Josh Vollum killed her in 2015. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement: “Today’s sentencing reflects the importance of holding individuals accountable when they commit violent acts against transgender individuals. Williamson’s slaying made headlines when Caitlyn Jenner mentioned the teen during an acceptance speech for an award in 2015. Many LGBT advocates were closely watching the Mississippi case. Former President Barack Obama signed the federal legislation in 2009 and it went into effect in 2010. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was used to prosecute a case with a transgender victim, the Justice Department said in a statement. ![]() Monday’s sentencing marked the first time the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Vallum had previously pleaded guilty in state court to murder and had been sentenced to life in prison. Vallum had pleaded guilty to the hate crime, admitting that he killed his former girlfriend because he was afraid that his fellow Latin King gang members would find out that she was transgender. WASHINGTON – In a landmark for hate-crime legislation, a Mississippi man was sentenced Monday to 49 years in prison and fined $20,000 for killing his 17-year-old transgender ex-girlfriend, the Justice Department said.Ī federal judge sentenced Joshua Vallum, 29, of Gulfport, for killing Mercedes Williamson, 17, in 2015. hate-crime law was used to prosecute someone charged with victimizing a transgender person. The case, watched closely by LGBT activists, marked the first time a U.S. He was sentenced Monday in federal court in Gulfport, Miss. Josh Valum, 29, killed ex-girlfriend Mercedes Williamson, 17, because he feared the Latin Kings would find out she was transgender.
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