The first trial under the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for violence against a transgender person has resulted in a guilty verdict. Daqua Lameek Ritter was found guilty of a Hate Crime for murdering Dime Doe a transgender woman in South Carolina
because of her gender identity. After a four-day trial in a federal hate crime case a jury found the South Carolina man guilty of all charges in the indictment which included one hate crime count, one federal firearms count & one obstruction count. Benjamin C. Mizer Acting Associate Attorney General stated, “Acts of violence against LGBTQI+ people, including transgender women of color like Dime Doe, are on the rise & have no place in our society. The Justice Department takes seriously all bias-motivated acts of violence & will not hesitate to hold accountable those who commit them. No one should have to live in fear of deadly violence because of who they are.” Kristen Clarke Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division concluded, “A unanimous jury has found the defendant guilty for the heinous & tragic murder of Dime Doe, a Black transgender woman. The jury’s verdict sends a clear message: Black trans lives matter, bias-motivated violence will not be tolerated & perpetrators of hate crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We want the Black trans community to know that you are seen & heard, that we stand with the LGBTQI+ community & that we will use every tool available to seek justice for victims & their families.”
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