Hunting Trans Prostitutes Isn’t “Heinous Enough” For D.A.

A San Francisco District Attorney has decided that not only is hunting down transgender women to assault, rape and murder isn’t a hate crime, it’s also not “heinous enough” to warrant the death penalty.

This isn’t the first time Donzell Francis is in trouble with the law in regards to transgender women:

Donzell Francis, 42, allegedly raped and killed Ruby Rodriguez, also known as Ruby Ordenana, whose body was found on a Potrero Hill sidewalk on March 16, 2007.

Francis was convicted last year of sexually assaulting, beating and robbing a transgender prostitute in the Tenderloin in September 2007. He was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison, and three months later, prosecutors charged him with similar attacks on two other transgender prostitutes including the rape and strangling of Ordenana.  – San Francisco Examiner

D.A. George Gascón, despite being a supporter of the death penalty, has stated that he will only pursue it in “very heinous” cases.  At the time of this post, both the death penalty and a hate crime implication are off the table.  Apparently going around attacking trans people isn’t “hateful” or “heinous” enough.

Read the full articles at the San Francisco Examiner and NBC Bay Area.