The Butcher's Bill

The Butcher’s Bill
by Raven Usher

An average of 12 transgendered people are murdered every year. That works out to one a month for the mathematically impaired. They are killed for being themselves. They set out to live the lives that their hearts and minds tell them are correct. Bigotry and fear bring those lives to horrifically abrupt ends.

November 20th, 2004 will be the sixth annual observance of the Transgendered Day of Remembrance. It is a day when we pause to remember those transgendered brothers and sisters who have been lost to hatred and violence over the past year. We pause in vigil to salute the courage they showed in choosing the lives they led.

The most dangerous year for TG’s, according to the Remembering Our Dead (ROD) records, was 2003 with a total of 29 victims of prejudice. 2004, although still high, has returned more closely to the yearly average with 19. Not everyone who makes the ROD list self-identifies as transgendered. Some are friends, family or loved ones who get caught in the cross-fire. But transgendered or not, they lose their lives due to violence aimed at us.

This year’s victims of hatred are (in chronological order): Lee “China” Zainal; stabbed nine times in neck and chest. Reshae McCauley; severe upper body trauma. Pedro Cruz Ramos; shot, allegedly by Eliezer Santana Baez. Unknown transperson; murdered. Precious Armani; shot in the head. Mickey Ward-El Smith; shot ten times. (Smith was 19-years-old.) Augusto Flores Munoz; shot, allegedly by Eliezer Santana Baez. Cedric Thomas; shot multiple times. (Thomas was shot on May 18th, and succumbed to those wounds on June 5th.) Unknown transperson; murdered. Unknown transperson; shot to death. (This is the first of two individuals found together.) Unknown transperson; shot to death. (This is the second of two individuals found together.) Gennaro Rizzo; stabbed several times in the thorax and elsewhere. Darryl Fearon; stabbed. (The 17 year old victim had come to the aid of three transgender individuals who were being harassed by Christian Soto-Ruiz. Soto-Ruiz stabbed this victim to death with a kitchen knife, and slashed one of the transgender individuals.) Leandro Bispo Estavao; stabbed. Tony “Delicious” Green; beaten. Rivera Rene; throat cut. Joel Robles; stabbed. (Estanisalao Martinez is being held by police for this murder.) Bella Martinez; shot. Andre; bludgeoned to death.

If you look closely you will notice that Pedro Ramos and Augusto Munoz were both allegedly shot by Eliezer Baez. Ramos and Munoz were friends and were frequently in one another’s company. Ramos was shot on Feb. 4. Munoz was shot on April 16. Even though he was the primary suspect in Ramos’ murder, Baez was not taken into custody until after Munoz’s murder.

Only a few of the murderers of transgendered victims are ever brought to justice. 2002 teen transgender murder victim Gwen Araujo’s case was declared a mistrial in August, 2004 due to a hung jury. Half the jurors believed her murder was justified because the four men who bludgeoned her to death did not know she was born male until after they had engaged in sexual relations with her. Those jurors held on to that belief even though one of the four men plea-bargained and testified against the other three.

I am not trying to win any kind of lifetime achievement award for living my life as a transsexual. I am just trying to live an entire lifetime. Unfortunately hatred, ignorance and bigotry drive others to begrudge me that goal. Violence against transgenders is more apt to be ignored by authorities than violence against the gay men who hold hands in public or the lesbian couple who attempt to adopt a child. In the GLBT world the G’s, L’s and B’s are fighting for civil rights. The T’s are still fighting for survival.
Blessed Be.