Missouri executes first openly transgender person in U.S. history

Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The state of Missouri executed Scott "Amber" McLaughlin by lethal injection Tuesday evening, making her the first openly transgender person to be executed in the United States.

McLaughlin, 49, was pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m. at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Mo., following an unsuccessful bid for clemency earlier in the day.

McLaughlin apologized in her final, written statement, which was sent to UPI by the Missouri Department of Corrections.

"I am sorry for what I did. I am a loving and caring person," McLaughlin wrote on Sunday with the signature "Scott McLaughlin."

McLaughlin's execution is the first in the United States this year. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, McLaughlin is the first openly transgender person and the 18th woman to be executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Last month, McLaughlin and her attorneys petitioned Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson for clemency, appealing for McLaughlin's death sentence to be commuted to life in prison because the jury at her trial could not agree on her punishment.

U.S. Reps. Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver, both Missouri Democrats, also sent a letter outlining a history of McLaughlin's traumatic childhood and mental health issues.

"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 anti-LGBTQ+ hate and violence, and cycles of violence that target and harm women," the letter reads.

Parson denied clemency Tuesday, saying the execution would move forward as scheduled.

"The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin's sentence according to the Court's order," Parson said in a statement, as the loved ones of her victim "deserve peace."

McLaughlin, who went by the name of Scott at the time, was sentenced to death for the Nov. 20, 2003, murder of her 45-year-old ex-girlfriend Beverly Guenther.

According to court records, McLaughlin waited for Guenther outside of her workplace and repeatedly stabbed and raped her in the parking lot. McLaughlin was convicted of first-degree murder, forcible rape and armed criminal action. The jury was deadlocked on the death penalty, leaving the decision up to the trial judge.

In 2016, a district court judge vacated McLaughlin's death sentence, ruling a jury did not properly weigh aggravating factors.

The 8th U.S. Court of Appeals reinstated the death sentence last year.