John —
Pride Month is about more than just celebrating equality and the LGBTQ+ community. It’s about all of us educating ourselves about the contributions and struggles of the queer community, as well as the history of anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda, leaders, and legislation in our country — and recommitting to the fight against homophobia and transphobia.
Yes, there’s been a lot of progress made, but there is still much work to be done to combat prejudice and discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities in the United States, including within the legal system and among law enforcement.
According to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, LGBTQ+ people are three times more likely to be jailed than their straight, cisgender — people whose gender identity corresponds with their birth sex — counterparts. And trans people — people whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned to them at birth — are almost four times more likely to experience police violence than cisgender people according to the Anti-Violence Project.
In recognition of Pride Month, we wanted to highlight some stories of exonerees who were wrongfully convicted on the basis of their perceived sexual or gender identity.
These stories serve as examples of how homophobia, transphobia, and general anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments have been ingrained in the criminal legal system. We hope that by sharing these stories, you will be inspired to continue fighting against hate and injustice.
How Homophobia Led to the Wrongful Conviction of Four Texas Women
In 1995, Anna Vasquez and three of her friends were wrongly accused of sexually abusing two young girls in San Antonio, Texas, after one of the women, Elizabeth Ramirez, rejected the advances of the children’s father Javier Limon. All four of the women identify as lesbians, a fact that colored the investigation into the accusations and case against them. Anna and her friends spent 15 years in prison before being released on bail in 2013 after one of the alleged victims recanted her statement saying that her father had pressured her to lie — they were exonerated with help from the Innocence Project of Texas in 2016. Read more about their story here.
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Monica Jones and the Problem of “Walking While Trans”
On a Friday night in 2013, Monica Jones — a Black transgender woman — was walking to a local bar to have drinks. While on her way, she was approached by an undercover police officer who asked her if she needed a ride and she accepted. But when she got in the car, he began to hassle her about prices and services despite Monica claiming that she had no intention to prostitute herself. She was arrested and convicted of “manifesting prostitution” — an ambiguous law that criminalizes the “appearance” of the intent to solicit prostitution.
Monica’s arrest is one of the many cases that has been attributed to the phenomenon of “walking while trans,” which is described as the profiling of trans women of color as sex workers. She was represented by Jean-Jacques “J” Cabou of Perkins Coie and had her conviction vacated in 2015. Read more about Monica’s story here.
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How Homophobia Led to the Wrongful Conviction of Miguel Castillo
In 1989, Miguel Castillo was arrested and accused of murdering his neighbor Rene Chinea — a 50-year-old gay Cuban immigrant — in Chicago. Eight months after discovering Rene’s body, the police were led to Miguel by a tip from another person suspected of committing the crime. Convinced that whoever committed the murder was also a gay man, the police incorrectly assumed Miguel was gay and said that he confessed to the crime. He always maintained his innocence and was exonerated in 2001. Read more about Miguel’s story here.
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The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
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