DALLAS ( AP )- On Thursday, the mother of a Black trans woman who was fatally shot in Dallas in 2019 pleaded guilty to the murder and cried out to him that she would continue the advocacy work that her 22-year-old child had begun.
Stephanie Houston, the family of Muhlaysia Booker, stated in her prey impact statement in court that “her body might not be around, but her soul lives in a tradition here and I’m going to keep my mother’s name alive.”
As the jury selection process was about to start, 37-year-old Kendrell Lyles entered a guilty plea to death on Monday and was given the death penalty of 48 times. Authorities have not disclosed Lyles ‘ motivation for killing Booker, and his lawyer has stated that he is unsure of his motivation.
She was attacked by many men in an unrelated incident about a month prior to Booker’s death as people gathered in the wake of an insignificant car crash. The assault was recorded on a smartphone and widely circulated on social media. Authorities claimed that Booker’s attackers used racist slurs after she was taken to the hospital.
She was shaken but unflappable when she spoke at a protest held after the attack, telling followers,” This day, I may have before you, whereas in other scenarios, we are at the memorial.” The assault that happened Booker in her brief life serves as an example of the threats faced by transgender people, particularly Black transgend women, across the United States.
Jordan Ford, a friend of Booker’s, testified in court on Thursday that the assault did n’t break her spirit; rather, it motivated her to speak up.
According to Ford,” Muhlaysia took it upon herself to increase awareness of the hatred and violence that trans people experience every day.” She “refused to be silenced by suffering, and her unwavering resolve inspired some.”
Ford claimed that in addition to taking the time to coach younger LGBTQ+ individuals, Booker even went live on social media to inform them that “it’s OK to remain true to who you are.”
On a Dallas city in the early hours of May 18, 2019, Booker’s body was discovered. While looking into the incidents of a man and woman who were killed in separate shootings in the weeks following Booker’s murder, police claimed to have identified Lyles as the suspect. According to authorities, Lyles was even accused of being involved in those two victims ‘ deaths. There were no trans people among the other two victims.
About three days before her body was discovered, Booker boarded a car that matched the description of the one Lyles was driving, according to an arrest permit. According to the subpoena, a witness informed investigators that Lyles frequently visited the area to match with trans sex workers.
Houston informed Lyles that she had forewarned her girl about such individuals.
Houston added that her child was shot three days and thrown out of the vehicle “like she was trash,” adding that she had “warned my girl about the lord and that day she got in the same car as the vile.”
Houston, who founded the Muhlaysia Booker Foundation to aid trans people after her mother’s passing, said,” You only looked at her like a transgend woman, but she was more than that.”
Texas is one of the states where trans people are the target of more and more laws and policies, such as limitations on gender-affirming treatment, using the restroom in public, and participating in sports.
At least 334 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed by violence in the United States since 2013, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s public education and research team. Of these victims, 75 % were of color, and nearly 62 % were Black. Additionally, more than any other state, Texas saw about 10 % of those deaths, according to HRC.
