The Bombshell Dropped In Prosecutor's Opening Statement At The Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial

by: Autumn Sandeen
Fri Apr 17, 2009 at 02:06:49 AM EDT Cross posted with full permission from Pam's House Blend. Thank you Autumn.

Today, 8:00AM to 5:00PM-ish MDT, I was in the Weld County, Colorado courtroom where the Angie Zapata Murder. The prosecution dropped a bombshell in the afternoon's opening statements: The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Community Center Of Colorado -- in an understated way -- states the courtroom revelation:
In opening statements, the prosecution said they will present evidence that shows that Andrade knew that Angie was transgender long before he killed her.
Prosecuting attorneys said in the days leading up to the two meeting in person, they had exchanged nearly 700 communications.
After meeting, the two went to a traffic court hearing in Greeley in which Angie was identified in court by her previous male name and by male pronouns.
The defense team contends Andrade did not learn of Angie's transgender status until moments before he killed her.
What came out in court, per Deputy District Attorney Brandi Lynn Nieto, was this traffic court trip took place 36-hours before Allen Ray Andrade admittedly killed her.
As the prosecution is describing the timeline, a trans panic or gay panic strategy would, with the evidence that the prosecution has stated in court it will present, be impossible to support. And, that's because a trans panic/gay panic defense is a crime of passion strategy: If, as suggested, Allen Ray Andrade knew Angie was transgender 36-hours before he killed her, then this wasn't a crime of passion.
And, since the defense is using a classic gay panic/trans panic/blame-the-victim strategy -- the defense using the hated language of "deceptive" to describe Angie in their opening statement, and using the language of "supposedly female" to describe Angie in questions posed to witnesses in cross-examination later in the day -- and if the prosecution uses can adequately support their opening statement assertions in their presentation to the jurors, then this alleged 36-hour awareness of her transgender status would destroy the veracity of the defense assertions.
This really is a bombshell dropped by the prosecution team!
Autumn Sandeen :: The Bombshell Dropped In Prosecutor's Opening Statement At The Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial

NCTE'S Mara Keisling Interviewed by Autumn Sandeen

National Center For Transgender Equality's Mara Keisling Interviewed by Autumn Sandeen

New media reporter and commentator Autumn Sandeen, (for National Center for Transgender Equality. The interview took place at the 4th Annual California Transgender more...Leadership Summit, held at the University of California, San Diego, on March 27th to 29th, 2009.The discussion covers Transgender Lobby Day (April 28th, 2008 in Washington, D.C.); how Mara is 28th from the top of the list of most "well paid" members of the LGBT related Non-Profit community; the upcoming 3rd Annual Transgender Religious Leaders Summit

IRAN : Death Penalty for Children and Dissenting Blogger وقف الطفل الجانح الإعدام في إيران

Source AlJazeera English March 24, 2009 المصدر الجزيرة الانجليزية 24 مارس

"The number of state-sanctioned executions almost doubled last year."

"A report by Amnesty International shows Iran, Saudi Arabia and China as being responsible for 90 per cent of all executions in 2008."

"Now, Iran is proposing a new law that could see the death sentence imposed on internet bloggers who post offensive material on the web."

Al Jazeera's Nazanin Sadri reports.

At planetransgender I seek to contact LGBT people in countries that I've had have few visitors from or have a goverment that persecutes LGBT people. Recently I've had some readers from Iran, brave people who refuse to live in shackles. These people's lifes are now in danger.

Take Action! Stop Child Offender Executions in Iran! وقف الطفل الجانح الإعدام في إيران

Click here to take action.

Abigail from Arizona 'Andrade's Goose is Cooked and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy'

Abigail authors a wonderful blog tittled "Living my Life". She is a transgender woman, activist and Lawyer who did a brilliant dissertation of the facts as presented currently in the Allen Andrade's murder Trial.

What I found most profound about our meeting is that we may have never met if it were not the for this horrendous act of hatred and our shared passion for justice and wonderment of the beauty of Angie Zapata's life.

Abigail's understandings and peace is a attribute of what accepting and then welcoming transition can be, if you are proficient with, or at least willing to work hard with a oar.

The wild rapids some of us experience are smooth summer ponds for others, but we are all floating in a river of commonality, transgender and cisgender alike.

Andrade's criminal defence depends on hacking apart our shared humanity, and he will fail. In this life his existence depends on a better defense but soon Andrade will kneel in supplication before our Lord, alone and naked in judgement of his soul, for eternity.

Angie's death has illuminated this in neon brilliance.

Abigail's blog "Living My Life"

NGLTF Creating Change 2010 Dallas Co-Chairs at the Resource Center April 23

April 15, 2009

Creating Change 2010 Host Committee Co-Chairs Take the Stage!
Host Committee to Launch in Dallas on April 23

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announces the Co-Chairs of the Dallas/Forth Worth Host Committee for The 22nd National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. The Creating Change conference (as it is affectionately known) will take place in Dallas, Texas February 3-7, 2010. The 22nd National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change is sponsored, organized and produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The LGBT movement’s premier annual gathering will be held for the second time in Dallas; the 1994 Creating Change Conference was also hosted in Dallas.

“We are delighted with our Co-Chair team of four accomplished and experienced community leaders,” said Russell Roybal, the Task Force’s deputy executive director of external affairs. “We’re coming back to Dallas to host our annual movement family gathering and we look forward to a robust and visionary event in the heart of Texas. Our 2010 Creating Change attendees will be treated to real Texas hospitality. Let’s live large and think big at Creating Change!”

The Co-Chairs will convene the first Creating Change 2010 Host Committee meeting on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7:30 PM in the Rainbow Room at the Resource Center of Dallas, 2701 Reagan St. For directions or information, call (214) 521-5124.

The National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change is the premier national grassroots organizing and skills building LGBT conference. The 2009 Creating Change conference was held in Denver Colorado and attracted over 2000 LGBT rights advocates. The conference is well known for providing a unique environment where activists and leaders come together from diverse places and backgrounds to create a community that is both strengthening and inspiring to the participants.

To learn about the work of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, visit http://www.thetaskforce.org/.

For more information about the Creating Change conference, visit http://www.creatingchange.org/.

For more information about the Dallas/Forth Worth Creating Change Host Committee, please e-mail http://us.mc456.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=creatingchange@thetaskforce.org.

Meet the Co-Chair Leadership Team for the 2010 Creating Change Conference!

Allen Andrade Murder Trial Begins

Greeley - 4/16/2009

Alex Hannum Reports: After two days of jury selection, the prosecution and defense finally got the chance to present their opening statements in the murder trial of Allen Andrade.

Andrade is accused killing transgender female Angie Zapata last summer, after he found out she was biologically a male.

The prosecution claims Andrade waited more than 36 hours after he found out, before killing Zapata.

Original Article and clip showing opening statements at North Colorado 5.com