Jason Cazares, the last one not serving time for the death of Gwen Araujo, is behind bars. He was scheduled to return to court yesterday after the judge granted him the extra time for the birth of his son. I mentioned this to Gwen Smith the other night, but she had heard he was due in court today. I wasn't sure, but the date I wrote in my notes from the previous court sessions listed yesterday.
I wanted to be there when he arrived at court...to wish him (and his attorney) a "fun time" in prison, but work has kept me extremely busy with morning meetings. He will now begin a six year sentence, with 20 months of time spent behind bars given as credit. That means he has four years and four months to serve before he'll be eligible for release. That puts his release near the end of July 2010.
Although Gwen Araujo's family has suffered greatly through this entire ordeal, a lot of good has come from it. The public is more aware of transgender topics, four bad people are behind bars, and the courts are moving to modify the way people can defend themselves when they kill a gay or transgender person. Hopefully the awareness will pay off in time.
No comments:
Post a Comment