#amber mclaughlin

[icepandawarrior]

Amber Midthunder // Laura Kinney

Arden Cho // Betsy Braddock

Logan Lerman // Peter Parker

Sarah Shahi // Janet Van Dyne

Jesus Castro // Pietro Maximoff

Caleb McLaughlin // Virgil Hawkins

[coochiequeens]

The co-director of MADP, Elyse Max, told local news outlet KRCG: “We just implore the Governor to find mercy in his heart. Amber is a gentle human. Everyone who knows her knows that Amber is not of future harm.” WTF Elyse? Sott raped a girl back in 1992 and raped a murdered a woman in 2003.

Government officials and “prison reform” activists in the United States are backing an effort to block the execution of a convicted child sex offender and murderer who began identifying as transgender while on death row. 

Missouri Democrat Representatives Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver have issued a letter to the state’s governor requesting clemency for Amber McLaughlin, a man who is set to become the first transgender inmate executed by the state for his crimes on January 3, 2023.

Formerly known as “Scott,” McLaughlin began transitioning while on death row for the horrific rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, Beverly Guenther, in 2003.

According to court records, Guenther and McLaughlin met in 2002 and began living with each other shortly into the relationship. But the cohabitation was marred by break-ups that were often so serious that Guenther sometimes had to obtain restraining orders to keep McLaughlin away from her.

In the spring of 2003, Guenther and McLaughlin formally ended their relationship, but McLaughlin continued to pursue the woman, exhibiting stalking behaviors by frequently visiting her place of work and calling her.

On October 27, 2003, McLaughlin was arrested after burglarizing Guenther’s home. He told arresting officers he was trying to reclaim possessions he left behind at the home while living with Guenther, and was arraigned in November. Guenther had filed for a protective order just two days before McLaughlin murdered her.

On the night of November 20, while the protective order was in effect, McLaughlin drove to Guenther’s workplace and waited for her in the parking lot of the office building. He ambushed her as she walked towards her truck, pulled her to the ground, and sexually assaulted her.

After violating the woman, McLaughlin stabbed her to death and shoved her corpse in his hatchback. He drove Guenther’s body to a nearby river, and disposed of it in the underbrush. McLaughlin was arrested the next day at the hospital while attempting to obtain medication for his mental illness.

McLaughlin was ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and forcible rape. A trial jury was unable to decide whether to impose a sentence of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole, and the presiding judge made the final decision to issue the death penalty. 

McLaughlin has unsuccessfully appealed his sentence multiple times over since it was handed down.

In 2016, McLaughlin was granted a stay of execution, but it was re-instated by a Federal Appeals Court in 2021. On September 29, after years of delays, the state of Missouri announced a date of January 3, 2023, had been set for McLaughlin’s execution.

In addition to the 2003 murder of Beverley Guenther, McLaughlin also had a historical sex offender registrationdue to a 1992 conviction for raping a 14-year-old girl.

On December 12, McLaughlin’s legal counsel filed a clemency petition urging Missouri Governor Mike Parson to intervene and prevent the execution. In the 27-page document, McLaughlin’s lawyers portrayed their client sympathetically, stating that he was “failed by the institutions… that should have protected [him].”

Included in the petition were descriptions of childhood physical and sexual abuse, periods of time spent in foster care, brain damage from fetal alcohol exposure, and mental illness that manifested as depression.

Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) took up McLaughlin’s cause and rallied at the Missouri Capitol on Tuesday, December 27, to request that Governor Mike Parson grant clemency to McLaughlin. The organization delivered a petition with over 6,000 signatures to Parson’s office.

The co-director of MADP, Elyse Max, told local news outlet KRCG: “We just implore the Governor to find mercy in his heart. Amber is a gentle human. Everyone who knows her knows that Amber is not of future harm.”

The plea was supported by seven former Missouri judges, according to MADP, and two Democratic state representatives of Congress.

A joint letter signed and issued by both Rep. Bush (D-MO) and Rep. Cleaver (D-MO), delivered alongside MADP’s petition, requested that Governor Parson halt the scheduled execution and commute McLaughlin’s sentence to life in prison, citing “gender dysphoria” and “mental health issues” as mitigating circumstances.

The letter, dated December 27, argues that jurors deliberating McLaughlin’s sentence were deprived of “crucial mental health evidence,” including information regarding his “gender dysphoria,” as his defense lawyers “failed to present it.”

Using feminine pronouns for McLaughlin, the politicians wrote: “Ms. McLaughlin faced a traumatic childhood and mental health issues throughout her life. She experienced horrific abuse and neglect at the hands of various caregivers; court records indicate her adoptive father would frequently strike her with paddles and a night stick, and even tase her. Alongside this horrendous abuse, she was also silently struggling with her identity, grappling with what we now understand is gender dysphoria. The abuse, coupled with the persistent mental turmoil surrounding her identity, led to mild neurological brain damage and multiple suicide attempts both as a child and as an adult.”

The two representatives concluded their appeal by describing McLaughlin as a “woman” and referencing discrimination against “LGBTQ+” people.

“Ms. McLaughlin’s cruel execution would mark the state’s first use of the death penalty on a woman since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, and even worse it would not solve any of the systemic problems facing Missourians and people all across America, including antiLGBTQ+ hate and violence, and cycles of violence that target and harm women.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Parson told NBC News that the governor is reviewing the clemency request.

Earlier this month, Oregon Governor Kate Brown commuted the death sentences of 17 men convicted of violent murders, including one male inmate who had begun identifying as a woman while on death row.

According to court documents, in 1994 Karl Anthony Terry killed Jeffrey and Dale Brown with a samurai sword while they slept. The three men belonged to an organization that Terry called the “Order of the Black Dove.” The creed of the Order of the Black Dove, as stated in Terry’s journal entries, “celebrated violence and other anti-social behavior.”

While incarcerated and awaiting the death sentence, Terry began identifying as transgender and adopted the name Tara Ellyssia Zyst. Terry has used nearly a dozen other aliases in addition to Tara Ellyssia, such as Miazni Theidra, Deluria Dinnae, Uujohne Aejetta, and Ula Mitsata. He is being held at Snake River Correctional Facility in Ontario, Oregon, a medium-security mixed custody prison, and is now listed as “female” in prison records.

By Genevieve Gluck Genevieve is the Co-Founder of Reduxx, and the outlet's Chief Investigative Journalist with a focused interest in pornography, sexual predators, and fetish subcultures. She is the creator of the podcast Women's Voices, which features news commentary and interviews regarding women's rights.

[disillusionedjudge]

Are there any tropes fandom would put upon your character, for better or for worse?

Be honest. What song is playing over an AMV/tiktok of scenes between your character and their love interest?

How does fandom characterize/mischaracterize your characters ship in fanworks?

META ASKS: If Your OC Was Canon.

Are there any tropes fandom would put upon your character, for better or for worse?

Dog motif, right off the bat, and definitely not for worse, heh. Maybe sour supporter, which I don't think would be a bad thing. Going back to her dog motif, the dog bites back, which I'm 100% here for, heh. Dehumanization is gonna be another big one, which... I can see going either way, depending on how it's used, because Gylfie 100% self-dehumanizes herself, but I've seen it... get out of hand, ahah. I think the ice queen trope could be put on her too? and her being written off as a coldhearted bitch, which would definitely be for worse.

Be honest. What song is playing over an AMV/tiktok of scenes between your character and their love interest?

definitely the songs I've used for each ship tag, heh. For Luciana ( @notyourdumblonde ) it'd be peace by Tayl.or Sw.ift, for Thor (also @notyourdumblonde ) it'd be King And Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men, and for Caelen ( @tarnishedxknight ) it'd be Rewrite the Stars from The Greatest Showman! I... still need to figure one out for her and Mithran (also @tarnishedxknight ) now that I think about it, heh.

though, some other songs that I can see being used in general are: Take Me To Church by Hozier, I Found by Amber Run, Can't Help Falling In Love by Pentatonix (yes, I do know it's a cover but I love their cover lol), Don't Deserve You by Plumb, So Close by Jon McLaughlin, Cruel Summer by Tayl.or Sw.ift, Arcade by Duncan Laurence feat. FLETCHER, and Please Don't Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Aplin! I could go on, but those are the main ones, I think. Maybe also Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars, heh.

How does fandom characterize/mischaracterize your characters ship in fanworks?

uhh... well, I guess I could see Gylfie getting mischaracterized as unhealthily possessive, regardless of ship. She can definitely get jealous and might joke with her ship about wanting to make it known they're "hers". In reality, if she's in a relationship with someone, she trusts them a lot, because it takes time for her to feel comfortable enough around someone to let them in like that, so even if she's jealous, she's not. really going to do anything unless they seem uncomfortable or they want her to step in, because she trusts them to dismiss other advances. She wants her partner to have their own life and other nonromantic relationships, and would never dream of trying to control them in any way, shape, or form - especially considering how she knows how awful it is to be trapped by someone who is possessive (aka Vayne).

This could just be me, heh, but I'm constantly thinking about this post with literally any of Gylfie's ships, but I would like to believe there would be that sorta characterization feeding into her dog motif going on if she were canon sdfgkjhfsd

To be more specific to her existing ships, I can see: black cat/golden retriever characterization for her and Caelen, sunshine/midnight rain for her and Luciana, and royalty/knight for her and Thor, all for obvious reasons, I think, heh. I feel like those tropes/vibes pretty much encompass those ships pretty well! Still got nothing for her and Mithran, since that just started happening, heh

[venetianwindow]

[240213] || In the Beginning: Níall McLaughlin’s Carmelite Monastery. 1/3.

[Read: Part 2 // Part 3]

It seems absurd to find a monastery between Kensington High Street and Notting Hill Gate, but nothing is inconceivable in London. Such a remarkable place also possesses one of the most exceptional interiors of the 1990s. Sited next to Giles Gilbert Scott’s Carmelite Church, the modest gates of the Carmelite monastery shield the monks’ spiritual world from the glitzy realm beyond. Thankfully, the boundary is not unnegotiable; armed with persistence and passion – bolstered by a helpful personal link – I made my pilgrimage to the beginning.

Upon entering, the seemingly endless corridor gives a taster of what is to come. The reception was coded in the architectural and material languages that are by now so familiar to me. Even here one could discern tropes and motifs that would evolve into future signatures. Reading them instantly was comforting, as was the warm timber. From afar it looked radiant.

The monks’ private chapel was intimate and human. It nurtured relationships between man and the holy as well as between men. My agnostic self felt a twinge of guilt intruding into this space of domesticated sacredness. The piety of its users was evident in the myriad of religious belongings, from bibles and brass candlesticks to the statue of the Virgin and the ornate handheld cross I dared not touch.

A quiet spirituality permeated the room; it practised that Modernist tendency of evocation by architectural devices over literal representation. This was a gentle place. Perhaps it took after its architect.

In this small space, all is lightness. Architectural purity flowed forth from stable platonic forms fashioned from a luxurious but not garish material palette: oak, brass, limestone, hand-blown glass, and so on. The consistent tones of gold and amber sustain a hallowed sense of serenity.

From the lush garden beyond drifted in the joyful ambience of nursery children; within there was only peace and calm. A candle gently flickered upon the reredos. The world is a wall apart.

[➡️ Continued in part 2.]

☞ studygram

[bittenfms]

fc recs for the quilete pack?

its hard to find any quileute FCs as the tribe is severely underrepresented as far as resources go but fcs that is native to the Pacific Northwest could work like : richard harmon , cody christian , froy gutierrez , forrest goodluck , dakota beavers , cha-tah ellem , tanner novlan , triana browne , amber midthunder , anna lambe , danielle moonstar , taylor red fox , anna lambe , martin sensmeier , makela yepez , tanaya beatty , kiana madeira , devery jacobs , madison mclaughlin , alex meraz , sinqua walls , kiowa gordon , gil birmingham , d’pharaoh woon-a-tai , blair lamora .

please correct me if I am wrong as I am only native to the Caribbeans and do not want to be disrespectful.

[beardedmrbean]

ST. LOUIS — On the morning of her scheduled execution, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson denied clemency for Amber McLaughlin.

She will be the first openly transgender death row inmate executed by the state of Missouri and the first in the United States.

In a news release, the governor's Office confirmed they will carry out the sentence of McLaughlin as ordered by the Supreme Court of Missouri.

"McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remains after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, raped, and murdered Ms. Guenther. McLaughlin is a violent criminal," Parson said. "Ms. Guenther's family and loved ones deserve peace. The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin’s sentence according to the Court's order and deliver justice."

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, McLaughlin is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the crime she committed 19 years ago.

According to the Anti-Execution Death Penalty Information Center, there is no known case of an openly transgender inmate being executed in the US before.

Statement from McLaughlin's attorney, Laurence Komp: 

“We are just profoundly disappointed. This was a case where the jury refused to impose death - so it was ideal for clemency to close that loophole and impose life.”

The crime

5 On Your Side searched through our archives, learning what happened on Nov. 20, 2003.                

The victim's neighbor said Beverly Guenther was in fear of her ex-partner for months.

According to the neighbor, we learned a police officer was walking Guenther from work to her car for a week.

But, the one time she stopped asking for an escort, the murder happened.       

Guenther was about to file another order of protection against McLaughlin the very next day when she was abducted from her job in Earth City.           

Her body was then found in south St. Louis.                

Guenther was raped and stabbed to death.

In the news release, Parson said, "McLaughlin terrorized Ms. Guenther for months prior, to the point where Ms. Guenther had an order of protection against McLaughlin after McLaughlin broke into her home. McLaughlin’s culpability in Ms. Guenther's murder has never been in question. Missouri courts have found no issue in the application of Missouri law to McLaughlin, and federal appellate courts have maintained as much."

The conviction

McLaughlin was charged with first-degree murder, rape and aggravated assault.

One of McLaughlin's attorneys, Laurence Komp, said while the jury convicted McLaughlin of the crime, they were deadlocked on a death sentence. 

That's when a St. Louis County judge set the ruling for the death sentence.

Missouri is one of two states across the country that allows a judge to do this.

[radgritty]

Celebrating "Amber" McLaughlin's inevitable execution today.

[mystifiedhq]

mw fcs of color?

we would love to see these lovely faces being used angela bassett, idris elba, salma hayek, lakeith stanfield, taylor zakhar perez, ayo edebiri, raymond ablack, gabourey sidibe, alexandra james, jacob batalon, keke palmer, ross butler, lola tung, laverne cox, quinta brunson, tyler james williams, aimee carrero, michael cimino, lana condor, mason gooding, henry golding, laura harrier, oscar issac, amber midthunder, pedro pascal, devery jacobs, simone ashley, evan mock, chloe bailey, caleb mclaughlin, sandra oh, & matreyi ramakrishnan but pls use whoever you feel fits the character you have muse for !!

[the-rad-menace]

"At a prison in Bonne Terre on Tuesday, the state of Missouri carried out the first execution of an openly transgender woman in the history of the United States.

Amber McLaughlin, 49, was put to death for the murder of Beverly Guenther. McLaughlin, then known as Scott, raped and stabbed Guenther, 45, twenty years ago in Earth City, Missouri, before dumping her body in the city of St. Louis.

....

McLaughlin’s final written statement was, "I am sorry for what I did. I am a loving and caring person." This morning McLaughlin was served a final meal of a cheeseburger, french fries, a strawberry milkshake and peanut M&Ms.

The execution represents the first time a woman has been put to death in Missouri since 1953, (they STILL haven't executed a woman since 1953 🙄) when the federal government executed Bonnie Brown Heady for kidnapping and murdering a child.

The younger brother of McLaughlin’s victim, Al Wedepohl, 58, witnessed the execution. He remembers Guenther as "the best sister anybody could ask for," a woman whose life was taken from her just as she was reinventing herself after her marriage collapsed.

Provided by Al Wedepohl

Beverly Guenther, 45, was murdered on November 20, 2003.

"After the depression of the divorce, she was finally starting to bring herself back on track," Wedepohl says. Guenther hadn't worked when she was married and the house she lived in hadn’t belonged to her, but Wedepohl recalls his sister in the wake of the divorce establishing an independent life. She bought a car. She bought a house.

"She was really turning her life around," Wedepohl says. "It took a few years, but she finally got herself back together."

Then she met McLaughlin.

"The worst mistake she ever made," Wedepohl says.

Wedepohl met McLaughlin in 2003 and described his sister's murderer as manipulative, controlling and "very abusive, physically and mentally."

Wedepohl recalls a get-together Guenther had arranged so her brother and sister-in-law could meet McLaughlin, but at the gathering McLaughlin walked right past Wedepohl and his wife without saying a word.

The relationship between Guenther and McLaughlin devolved into abuse. When Guenther tried to end it, McLaughlin stalked and harassed her, burglarizing her home in October 2003.

"[McLaughlin] had this thing that was like a fatal attraction. It was either you'd be with me, or you're not," Wedepohl says. "That was even more messed up because he was living with someone else."

In the months before her murder, Guenther filed a restraining order against McLaughlin and, according to court filings, said in her victim impact statement that McLaughlin "threatened her and her friends” and “showed up at her job and watched 'everything' that she did."

On November 20, 2003, McLaughlin abducted Guenther outside the office where she worked. McLaughlin raped and stabbed her to death before leaving her lifeless body in the Patch neighborhood in south St. Louis, near the banks of the Mississippi River.

McLaughlin had been due in court on stalking charges the very next day.

(The justice system completely failed to protect her.)

After a four-day trial in 2006, the jury in the case was unanimous that McLaughlin had murdered Guenther, but they couldn't agree on whether the punishment should be life in prison or death. With the jury deadlocked, the decision was left to St. Louis County Circuit Judge Steven Goldman. He ruled that McLaughlin deserved to die.

Court transcripts show that Goldman thought the "depravity of mind" with which McLaughlin killed Guenther ultimately warranted death.

"I think that Beverly Guenther lived at the end a tortured life, and she died a tortured death, and this was at your hands," Goldman said, addressing McLaughlin. "You made her worst fears come true when you killed her."

More than a decade later, McLaughlin was incarcerated in Potosi Correctional Center in 2018 when another inmate there, Jessica Hicklin (murdered his friend for money, got life in prison, decided to transition at age 36, was released on parole just 6 years later. I'm sure his release had nothing to do with the lawsuit + transition costing the judicial system a shit ton of money and requiring special accommodations) in prison, won a landmark lawsuit allowing transgender incarcerated Missourians access to gender-affirming care.

Hicklin previously told the Riverfront Times that because of her success in the courts, she became a mentor to other transgender inmates. One day, Hicklin was introduced to McLaughlin for the first time as Amber.

"Now, this makes sense," Hicklin recalled thinking. "I've known you for a long time, you didn't necessarily seem very comfortable in your skin, and now you're smiling." (Rapist/murderers don't deserve to be comfortable or happy)

...

The brother of McLaughlin’s victim, Wedepohl, says that he's been bothered by the recent focus on McLaughlin's identity as transgender woman. He feels that his sister has been entirely lost in the onslaught of news coverage given to McLaughlin’s case in the past month.

He says that he doesn't want to belittle anyone, but he feels like McLaughlin's transition is a "ploy.” He adds, “It seems like it's pretty premeditated to try to get out of the death penalty."

...

Any hope for clemency was dashed this morning around 10 a.m. when the governor's office issued a statement saying that McLaughlin's execution would go through. Like the Supreme Court, Parson used the name “Scott McLaughlin” in issuing the order. McLaughlin also signed her final written statement in that name as well. (Even he gave up the ruse at the end.)

"McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remains," Parson's statement said in part. "Ms. Guenther's family and loved ones deserve peace.

..."

Bolding for emphasis and red comments are mine.

[rabiesofficial]

Diversity fail. Just another dude that kills women. Bonus:

🙄

[rapeculturerealities]

Transgender Missouri inmate executed for fatal stabbing | AP News

A Missouri inmate was put to death Tuesday for a 2003 killing, in what is believed to be the first execution of a transgender woman in the U.S.

Amber McLaughlin, 49, was convicted of stalking and killing a former girlfriend, then dumping the body near the Mississippi River in St. Louis. McLaughlin’s fate was sealed earlier Tuesday when Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined a clemency request.

[fromkenari]

“A database on the website for the anti-execution Death Penalty Information Center shows that 1,558 people have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in the mid-1970s. All but 17 of those put to death were men. The center said there are no known previous cases of an openly transgender inmate being executed. McLaughlin began transitioning about three years ago at the state prison in Potosi.“

[greycappedjester]

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-execution-of-amber-mclaughlin-in-missouri?source=direct_link&