The Trans Youth Support Network says that a hearing has been scheduled in the case against CeCe McDonald, a transgender women accused of murder. Community groups say that McDonald is being unfairly prosecuted and are asking community members to turn out to support McDonald on Monday morning.
Here’s the press release from TYSN:
Important Evidentiary Hearing in Chrishaun McDonald’s Case to be Held on Monday, Police Officers Expected to Testify
Contact: Katie Burgess, Executive Director, Trans Youth Support Network (TYSN) [email protected], (612) 363-7574; and Billy Navarro, Jr., MN Transgender Health Coalition, [email protected], (612) 823-1152
Minneapolis – On Monday, December 5, at 8:00 am, Chrishaun McDonald’s attorneys will argue a motion to suppress McDonald’s confession due to the coercive conditions of her interrogation by police. Police officers are anticipated to testify about the conditions of her interrogation. This important evidentiary hearing will have serious implications for how McDonald’s trial unfolds. Supporters will rally outside the courthouse to call for the County Attorney’s Office to drop the charges.
What: Evidentiary hearing in Chrishaun McDonald’s case, preceded by a rally by supporters.
When: Monday, December 2, rally at 8:00 am, evidentiary hearing at 8:30 am
Where: Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S 6th St, Minneapolis (rally starting at the fountain inside the plaza)
Ms. McDonald’s attorneys will argue that police denied McDonald her due process rights during their interrogation, leading her to make an involuntary statement. Following the incident that led to her arrest, which began as a racist and transphobic attack on McDonald and her friends and in which McDonald sustained traumatic injuries, police detained and interrogated her through the night and into the morning. McDonald’s attorneys will argue that because of the physical pain of her injuries, her prolonged and isolated detention, and lack of sleep, McDonald could not reach a clear and rational decision. By continuing their interrogation, despite McDonald’s obvious distress, police coerced her into making a confession.
At 8:00 am, before the evidentiary hearing, community members, supporters, friends, and family will rally to call for Michael Freedman, the lead prosecutor on the case, to drop the charges against McDonald. Supporters will remind the County Attorney’s Office that McDonald was the target of a hate crime and that she should not be singled out for aggressive prosecution after the attack. McDonald and her supporters have emphasized that Freeman has declined to press charges in cases like McDonald’s at least three times already this year and has the power to drop the charges against McDonald. Therefore, they are pressuring Freeman not to side with McDonald’s white supremacist attackers, and instead to drop the charges against McDonald.
McDonald is facing two felony murder charges after being verbally and physically assaulted by a group of white adults while passing by Schooner Tavern. One of the attackers smashed her drink into McDonald’s face, lacerating her salivary gland and slicing all the way through her cheek. In the ensuing scuffle, Dean Schmitz, who had a swastika tattoo on his chest, died of a stab wound. The prosecutors in the case added an additional murder charge after McDonald refused a plea offer in late September to a lesser charge and seven years in prison.
Three times this year, County Attorney Michael Freeman has declined to press charges against individuals who have been attacked and whose attackers have been subsequently killed. (See “Stabbing determined to be in self-defense,” “Woman released in Sunday stabbing” [Aug. 31, 2011], and “No charges in self-defense slaying in NE Minneapolis” [Sept. 2, 2011], on hennepinattorney.org.) There has been tragic loss of life in each of these cases, and yet in each case, the County Attorney’s Office chose not to press charges because the survivors of the incidents were attacked and did not start the conflicts that subsequently unfolded. In contrast, the County Attorney has moved forward aggressively with two charges of second degree murder against McDonald. By choosing to press charges, the County Attorney’s Office is implicitly siding with her attackers. Supporters of McDonald note that there is still time for Freeman to reverse his decision and drop the charges against McDonald.
Supporters continue to uphold their commitment to packing the courtroom and spreading the word about the injustice McDonald is suffering in justice system. McDonald’s trial is tentatively scheduled to begin on January 9. Visit http://supportcece.wordpress.com or email [email protected] for
more information.