In a historic and deeply controversial moment for the American death penalty, Missouri executed 49-year-old Amber McLaughlin on Tuesday, making her the first openly transgender woman put to death in the United States. McLaughlin was pronounced dead at the state prison in Bonne Terre after receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital. She had been convicted of the 2003 stalking and murder of her former girlfriend, whose body was later found dumped near the Mississippi River in St. Louis.
Hours before the execution, Republican Governor Mike Parson rejected her clemency petition. As the drugs flowed, McLaughlin spoke quietly with a spiritual adviser by her side. She breathed heavily a few times, closed her eyes, and passed away minutes later. In her final written statement, she said: “I am sorry for what I did. I am a loving and caring person.”
McLaughlin’s attorneys had highlighted her traumatic childhood and severe mental health struggles in their clemency request. According to the petition, she suffered horrific abuse as a child, including being rubbed with feces by a foster parent and being shocked with a stun gun by her adoptive father. She also battled severe depression and multiple suicide attempts throughout her life. McLaughlin began transitioning while incarcerated at Potosi prison about three years ago and was diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
The case has drawn national attention, raising difficult questions about mental health, childhood trauma, and the application of the death penalty. While McLaughlin’s gender identity was part of the discussion, her legal team emphasized it was not the central focus of the clemency appeal. Since the U.S. death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s, more than 1,558 people have been executed — nearly all of them men — making McLaughlin’s case a historic first.
