Free Republic

The jury that convicted two men of second-degree murder in the killing of Newark transgender teenager Gwen Araujo flatly rejected defense arguments that it was a case of manslaughter, a San Francisco lawyer who served on the panel said Tuesday. An average person would not have resorted to murder upon discovering that Araujo, 17, was biologically male, Max Stern, 38, of Piedmont, said in an interview with The Chronicle. "The community standard is not and cannot be that killing is something a reasonable person would have done that night," Stern said. Stern, a civil litigator, said the eight-man, four-woman jury...

The attorney for one of the defendants accused of killing a Newark transgender teenager said this morning that slaying is a ``classic case of a crime of passion.'' ``It was like a bolt of lightning. they were struck and it singed their minds,'' said J. Tony Serra in his closing statement. Serra insisted his client, Jason Cazares, should be acquitted in the case. Cazares, and co-defendants Michael Magidson and Jose Merel are on trial for killing 17-year-old Gwen Araujo, who they learned was anatomically a male. Two of them had sex with Gwen. At the very worst, Serra said Cazares,...

HAYWARD, Calif. - Nearly three years ago, Gwen Araujo was beaten and strangled after her companions discovered the fetching 17-year-old was biologically male. Closing arguments in the prosecution's second attempt to win murder convictions in the case were set for Wednesday afternoon. Three 25-year-olds, Michael Magidson, Jose Merel and Jason Cazares, face first-degree murder charges. A fourth man, Jaron Nabors, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for testifying against his friends. The case has been closely watched by the transgender community, who were disappointed last year when the first jury deadlocked. Magidson's attorney had argued the case was no...