Islan Nettles was killed by James Dixon in 2013 after he realised she was transgender
The
distraught mother of a transgender woman who was beaten to death by a
young thug told her daughter's killer 'I hope you die' as he was jailed
for 12 years.
Twenty-five-year-old James Dixon was sentenced on Tuesday for killing Islan Nettles, 21, in August 2013.
In
written statement to police, he allegedly admitted descending into a
'blind fury' when he realised the woman he had been chatting to on Eight
Avenue in Harlem, New York, was transgender.
'I
hope you die, I hope you rot because you took away something that you
should have no right to take away from anybody,' cried Delores Nettles
at Manhatten Supreme Court.
'How can you sleep at night, how can you rest?' she asked Dixon, who refused to make eye contact with her, reports the New York Post.
She
told the thug that he would be able to see his mother every day and
hear the words 'I love you' while she could only see her child on a
'mantle jar.'
The
12-year sentence was a deal offered by Justice Daniel Conviser after
Dixon pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and admitted to
viciously pummelling Nettles into unconsciousness.
Prosecutors,
who wanted to see Dixon behind bars for at least 17 years, resisted the
deal and Nettles' father, Anthony Mundon, slammed it as too lenient,
describing his daughter as an 'outgoing, free-spirited' aspiring fashion
designer.
After the beating, Nettles was on life support in Harlem Hospital for five days before she died.
Grand Marshal Laverne Cox (L) and
Delores Nettles, mother of slain transgender woman Islan Nettles, attend
the 2014 New York City Pride March in 2014. She told Dixon 'I hope you
die' when he was sentenced
If
convicted at trial, Dixon faced up to 25 years behind bars, after being
charged with two counts of manslaughter and one count of assault.
In one of his statements to police, Dixon allegedly said he and some friends approached a group 'thinking they were girls'.
After chatting he
asked one if 'she was a guy', before becoming enraged, pushing her over
and punching her, according to pretrial testimony from Detective
Heriberto Vasquez.
After the beating, Nettles was on life support in Harlem Hospital (pictured) for five days before she died
Dixon's lawyer Norman Williams declined to comment.
At the time, Nettles' death was mourned by the LGBT community, who gathered at a vigil for her in Harlem.
Commenting
on the sentencing of Dixon, Lourdes Hunter, co-founder and national
director of the TransWomen of Color Collective, told Rewire: 'This is not a win for the trans community,'
'James
Dixon going to jail will not stop trans murders, it will not bring
Islan Nettles back, it will not bring peace to Delores Nettles who for
many years sat in anguish as the murderer of her child roamed the
streets due to the negligence of the New York Police Department and the
New York District Attorney.'
At the time, Nettles' death was mourned by the LGBT community, who gathered at a vigil for her in Harlem
No comments:
Post a Comment