For the first time in the United States, a transgender woman has been executed. She was killed by lethal injection in the US state of Missouri on Tuesday evening (local time), as reported by CNN and other US media, citing a statement from the law enforcement agency.
She was convicted of murdering and raping her ex-partner in 2006.
She is the first known transgender person to be executed in the United States, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
Amber M., who was sentenced under her former name Scott M., was held in a men’s prison until the end.
Governor refused pardon
The 49-year-old had exhausted all legal remedies against the verdict. Her lawyer had tried unsuccessfully until the last minute to persuade Missouri Governor Mike Parsons to pardon her. Parsons declined a pardon on Tuesday.
More than 1,500 people have been executed in the United States since the reintroduction of the death penalty in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. (SDA)