MO might be first state to execute a dude in a dress

He may be the first he who thinks he's a she to be executed in MO

Missouri may quite possibly be the first state to execute a man who claims to be a woman, unless political correctness kicks in and the governor grants the killer clemency.

Scott McLaughlin, who changed his name and hairdo to Amber, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection today after he was found guilty of killing a former girlfriend in 2003. Of course, he was tried as Scott McLaughlin but said he was a woman after he was sentenced, possibly due to the fact that he would fare better in a woman's prison than with men. [The lethal injection will not be the COVID vaccine, it was reported.]

The Associated Press reported that McLaughlin, who is now 49, was in a relationship with 45-year-old Beverly Guenther before transitioning and would sometimes show up at an office in St. Louis where Guenther worked. He would often hide inside her place of business, according to court records, so Guenther obtained a restraining order.

Not a My Pillow topper

Police officers, at times, would escort Ms. Guenther to her vehicle after work as she believed her life was in danger which, it turned out, was true.

On the night of Nov. 20, 2003, Guenther’s neighbors called police after she failed to return home, the AP reported.

Police went to the office where Guenther worked and found a broken knife handle near her car and a trail of blood. The next day, Scott McLaughlin showed police where Guenther’s body had been dumped in the Mississippi River.

He was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 and sentenced to death after a jury deadlocked on the sentence, AP reported. In 2016, a court ordered a new sentencing hearing, but in 2021, the federal appeals court panel reinstated the death penalty.

With no appeals pending, McLaughlin’s attorney Larry Comp told AP, clemency is being sought.

The request for clemency does not primarily focus on McLaughlin’s gender dysphoria as it didn't exist until after he was sentenced, but instead it focused on traumatic childhood and mental health and victimhood issues which were never presented to a jury during trial because they were a poor excuse for killing another human being.

The petition claims McLaughlin suffers from depression because he's sad that he's slated to be executed, and he even tried to kill himself several times with an electric razor on his wrist.

"We think Amber has demonstrated incredible courage because I can tell you there’s a lot of hate when it comes to that issue," Komp told AP on Monday. But he added it is not the focus of the clemency request.

Incredible courage? How so? 

Merriam-Webster defines courage as: [n] mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. If he was courageous, would he have "transitioned" in prison to avoid the testosterone within the population?

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) is reviewing the request for clemency, which a spokesperson for the governor told AP is still underway. 

McLaughlin is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. today, Jan. 3.

Before 1976, the only woman ever executed in the state was Bonnie B. Heady, AP said. She was executed in a gas chamber on Dec. 18, 1953, for kidnapping and killing a 6-year-old boy.

But McLaughlin, in spite of his name change, is not a woman, but he is a murderer and Beverly Guenther's family deserves justice.

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