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Missouri put an inmate to death on Tuesday for a 2003 killing in what is thought to be the first execution of a transgender person in the U.S.
Amber McLaughlin, 49, was convicted of stalking and killing former girlfriend Beverly Guenther, then dumping the body near the Mississippi River in St. Louis.
A jury deadlocked on the sentence, but a judge sentenced McLaughlin to death in 2006.
During her execution, she spoke quietly with a spiritual adviser at her side as the fatal dose of pentobarbital was injected, the Associated Press reported.
McLaughlin breathed heavily a couple of times, then shut her eyes and was pronounced dead a few minutes later. "I am sorry for what I did," McLaughlin said in a final, written, statement. "I am a loving and caring person."
She was served a final meal of a cheeseburger, french fries, a strawberry milkshake and peanut M&Ms, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Her execution went ahead after Republican Governor Mike Parson declined a clemency request.
"McLaughlin's conviction and sentence remains after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, raped, and murdered Ms. Guenther. McLaughlin is a violent criminal," Parson said in a statement confirming the execution would go ahead.
"Ms. Guenther's family and loved ones deserve peace. The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin's sentence according to the Court's order and deliver justice."
Newsweek reached out to McLaughlin's attorney Larry Komp for comment.
There are no known previous cases of an openly transgender inmate being executed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. McLaughlin began transitioning about three years ago at the state prison in Potosi.
According to court records, McLaughlin began a relationship with Guenther in 2002 that ended in the spring of 2003.
After they stopped dating, McLaughlin would show up at the office where Guenther worked, sometimes hiding inside the building. Guenther got a restraining order, and police officers occasionally escorted her to her car after work.
Guenther's neighbors called police the night of November 20, 2003, when she did not return home.
Police found a broken knife handle and a trail of blood near her car outside the office building. McLaughlin later led police to a location near the Mississippi River in St. Louis, where Guenther's body had been dumped.
McLaughlin's clemency petition cited her abusive childhood and mental health issues, which the jury never heard during her trial.
McLaughlin is the first person executed in the U.S. in 2023.
Eighteen men were put to death in the country in 2022, including two inmates—Carman Deck and Kevin Johnson—in Missouri.
Another Missouri inmate—Leonard Taylor—has an execution scheduled for February 7.
Update 01/04/23, 10:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with information about McLaughlin's final meal.
About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda ... Read more