Minneapolis man sentenced to 30 years for murder of transgender woman
A Minneapolis man was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for killing Savannah Ryan Williams, a transgender woman, in November.
A Minneapolis man was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for killing a transgender woman in November, though prosecutors said they couldn’t prove the crime was bias-motivated.
A judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota, sentenced Damarean Kaylon Bible, 25, to 367 months — or nearly 31 years — in prison for second-degree murder after he fatally shot Savannah Ryan Williams, a 38-year-old trans woman who was well known among the local trans community, according to NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis.
“This senseless act of violence against a Native and Cuban transgender woman has left a family without a daughter, a partner without their person, and a community without the vibrant light that Savannah uniquely brought to every room she was in,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a news conference after the sentencing. “Savannah deserved safety.”
Bible told police that he shot Williams following a sex act because he felt “suspicious” about her. After a thorough investigation, Moriarty said, her office could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was bias-motivated but added that hate still could have been a factor.
“The fact that we could not charge this as a bias crime does not change the impact that this crime has had on making our trans community feel less safe,” Moriarty said, according to KARE. “Across the country and in our community, hateful acts of violence against transgender people are on the rise. Every time a trans person is attacked, the entire community feels less safe.”
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