In the first case of its kind, a Mississippi man pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime Wednesday for murdering his ex-girlfriend because she was transgender.
Joshua Vallum, 29, knew Mercedes Williamson was a transgender teenage girl when they began dating, the US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
Vallum killed her because she was transgender, making him eligible for prosecution under the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, named for two of the country’s most infamous hate crimes.
The federal law criminalizes violence based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. Vallum’s prosecution is the first to involve a victim targeted for being transgender, the Justice Department said.
“Our nation’s hate crime statutes advance one of our fundamental beliefs, that no one should have to live in fear because of who they are,” US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement.
“Today’s landmark guilty plea reaffirms that basic principle, and it signals the Justice Department’s determination to combat hate crimes based on gender identity.”
The number of reported hate crimes based on gender-identity since the FBI started collecting related data.
The number of reported hate crimes based on gender-identity since the FBI started collecting related data.
A consensual relationship turns deadly
Vallum, a member of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation crime gang, kept her gender identity a secret. The two broke up in 2014 and had no contact until May 2015, when Vallum decided to kill her.
A friend of his had learned that Williamson was transgender. Vallum feared reprisals from other Latin Kings members if they found out he was in a consensual sexual relationship with a transgender woman, the Justice Department said, citing statements Vallum made as part of his guilty plea.
After luring the 17-year-old into his car under false pretenses, he assaulted her and stabbed her with a pocket knife. As she tried to flee he stabbed her repeatedly and used a hammer to deliver the deadly blows, the Justice Department said.
Vallum initially claimed that he killed Williamson in a panic after learning she was transgender. In his guilty plea Wednesday, he admitted to lying about the circumstances surrounding her death.
He would not have killed Williamson if she was not transgender, he admitted in his plea.
Vallum previously pleaded guilty in state court to murdering Williamson in George County, Mississippi, and was sentenced to life in prison. Because Mississippi does not have a statute that protects people from bias crimes based on gender identity, the federal government was able to bring federal hate crime charges.
Killing his boyfriend because he refused to live his truth. it’s such a shame.
The Learning Channel has approved the series “I Am Jazz,” which is about a young teenager who was born a boy and has transgendered to a girl since the age of two years old. The parents supported this decision instead of giving guidance to the confused child. Professional help would now be needed because it is a psychological issue. 1MillionMoms knows God doesn’t make mistakes.
Previews have already begun airing, and the show will premiere this summer on July 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT. Keep in mind that the promos for this program air much earlier in the evening.
The show is attempting to normalize the transgender lifestyle and make it appear OK while using a young cast member to lure a young audience. This docu-series is about the real life of a young person and that will attract young viewers to watch.
As this was not enough, Jazz and family wrote a children’s book, also titled “I Am Jazz.” The graphics on the cover and throughout the book are of an elementary age child to appeal to young children. The book states that the child Jazz has “a girl’s brain in a boy’s body.”
1MM thought a warning should be sent out, not only for the television program, but also for the book that is sold in bookstores and online. The proceeds of the book go to the family’s foundation to promote the transgender lifestyle to children in an attempt to normalize it. The family also hopes for the book to make it into public elementary schools.
Obviously, TLC is attempting to desensitize America’s youth by airing programs starring teens. This alone will entice kids to watch.
Take Action
Please use the information we have provided to contact TLC (owned by Discovery Communications) concerning “I Am Jazz” and strongly encourage TLC to drop all plans to air this program.
Let TLC know you and your family will not be watching “I Am Jazz” or anything else on the network in order to avoid seeing the previews for this new show.
Let them also know you are prepared to join thousands of other voices in urging advertisers to place the program on their “do not advertise” list.
I’m convinced it’s the 2nd coming of christ. He had no right to take the other persons life. He should spend the rest of his paying for it. As for that TLC program, I’ve glimpsed pieces of it and it should be approached with extreme caution.
I saw another show about this lol boy living as a girl, she came home crying to her parents just because a lol boy he/She likes doesn’t like he /She back. The lol boy told her he doesn’t like boys like that and that he/She was born a boy. Niw y’all know that child is f**ked up now though.