Panic Defense Law, India & Climate Change #34
S3 Podcast
English - April 23, 2021 16:00 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBPersonal Journals Society & Culture Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
The LGBTQ+ “panic” defense strategy is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction, including murder. It is not a free-standing defense to criminal liability, but rather a legal tactic used to bolster other defenses. When a perpetrator uses an LGBTQ+ “panic” defense, they are claiming that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains—but excuses—a loss of self-control and the subsequent assault. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, this defense implies that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others.
One of the most recognized cases that employed the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense was that of Matthew Shepard. In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student, was beaten to death by two men. The men attempted to use the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense to excuse their actions. Despite widespread public protest, the defense is still being used today
The LGBT Bar uses “LGBTQ+ panic” rather than “gay/trans panic” because the former is an inclusive phrasing which recognizes that the defense strategy impacts all folks in the LGBTQ+ community. To refer to it as “gay/trans panic” excludes violence against those who do not identify as gay or transgender.
Traditionally, the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense has been used in three ways to mitigate a case of murder to manslaughter or justified homicide.
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