Allen Andrade Found Guilty

By Jessica Madison on April 22nd, 2009

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Allen Andrade was convicted of killing Angie Zapata, an 18 year-old transgender women from Denver Colorado. 32 year-old Andrade was found guilty of first degree murder, bias motivated hate crime, aggravated motor vehicle theft and identity theft. In the end, he was sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole.

The two had met on a social networking site and spent a few days together before Andrade realized Angie was biologically male. After this discovery Andrade became enraged and began punching Angie in the face. He then took a fire extinguisher and struck he in the end twice. Although Andrade admitted to killing Zapata, his defense team argued he wasn’t in his right mind and acted on pure instinct.

This is the first time a person has ever been convicted of a hate crime against a transgender person and many are calling it a landmark case. Supporters of the transgender community have been active in publicizing this case and bringing awareness to equal rights for transgender people.